An independent Pembrokeshire school that was going to shut for good this summer has been saved from the jaws of closure by a local dentist.

Castle School in Haverfordwest announced this week that it will shut when school breaks up for the summer in July.

After that it planned to keep on GCSE and A Level students until they have finished their exams, if needed.

The school currently provides a ‘high-quality education that nurtures the whole child’ for children aged 3-18 over three sites.

Headteacher and proprietor Harriet Harrison had said that the school would have to close due to a combination of ‘personal circumstances and rising costs’.

“It has always been a safe and happy place where children thrive and grow,” she said, adding that the decision to close had been made with a heavy heart.

The announcement that the school was closing left many parents struggling to find alternative provision.

Western Telegraph: Castle School has been saved from closure by a local dentist.Castle School has been saved from closure by a local dentist. (Image: Castle School)

One of these parents, Dr Mark Boulcott, a retired army officer and successful Narberth dentist, decided to take matters into his own hand and has proposed a working take over of the school in order to keep it open.

It is proposed that Dr Boulcott buy the school from Mrs Harrison who he will work alongside until the end of July when he will take over the school entirely.

Many of the activities seen in the past, such as a true outdoor school, wrap around education for students wishing to remain after the standard school day, and centralized integration of all pupils within the Glenover House complex, will be reinstated as part of the plan.

Dr Boulcott anticipates running the school as a charitable organization where profits are ploughed back into the school for the benefit of the school.

“I have never run a school,” he said. “What I am is a business owner and I understand teaching. I am a manager and am used to organising teams. He said that he had been motivated to take over the school as his daughter, currently in Year 5, doesn’t want it to close.

“We would all wish the status quo to continue, and this motivates the action I have taken. To keep Castle School alive and working for the betterment of all our children,” he said. We do not want disruption; we want to have what we had continue.

“Until but a few days ago I was simply just another stakeholder at the school: a parent. “Circumstances have forced my hand and I am doing what I can as quickly as I can. I am doing my very best to stop the closure of a great school.”