A PEMBROKE Dock catholic school may close its doors by next April.

The Governing Body (GB) of St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, is commencing a period of consultation on the future of the school.

It has consulted with the trustees of the Diocese of Menevia on the GB’s proposal to close the school permanently from April and has received their agreement to take the next steps in this process.

As the school is a Voluntary Aided School, the proposal to consider it for closure has to be agreed by the GB and the trustees of the Diocese.

However, the GB has asked the Local Authority to provide support from officers to ensure that the requirements of the statutory consultation process are met and this will be discussed at the next meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council on October 11.

The next stage of the process is the publishing of a consultation document with detailed information on the school which will be widely available and comments will be invited from members of the public and organisations including the Diocese and Local Authority. These comments will be considered by the GB prior to it making a final decision on the school’s future.

A spokesman for the Governing Body said: “The decision has been made with great sadness, but it was felt to be the only one left to governors for a variety of reasons.

“There has been a dramatic fall in the school’s roll in recent years and we now have only 32 full time pupils at the school.

“There has been a significant drop in Catholic baptisms in the local area, reducing demand for places and the low numbers have called into question the financial viability of the school.”

A spokesman for the Diocesan Director of Education said: “The Trustees of the Diocese of Menevia have accepted the GB’s decision with a heavy heart, and has urged all parties to work together to ensure continuity of access to Catholic education for any child whose parent desires it.

“The governing body will work towards this with the Diocese and Local Authority and to safeguard so far as possible, the employment of all those members of staff affected.”

The GB has been assured that there is sufficient capacity in other local schools to secure alternative places for the school’s pupils.