There will be no rescue plan for a local independent school teetering on the brink of closure, parents have learnt this week.

Castle School was established in 2009 in Cresselly with 22 secondary aged pupils.

Over the years the school has grown considerably, moving first to Narberth in 2015 where it expanded to include a prep school and sixth form.

In 2019, new premises were found in Haverfordwest and over lockdown the school moved into the county town, where it expanded onto three sites as a school for pupils aged between three and 18.

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The school says that it is committed to nurturing the whole child and boasts an "exceptionally high academic performance", with an average of 95 per cent of grades A*-C at GCSE.

Many parents were shocked and saddened as the school announced at the beginning of this month that it would be closing its doors to the majority of pupils in July.

The school will remain open as usual until July and then continue to offer provision for pupils entering their second year of GCSE and A Level studies until they complete their exams next year.

Headteacher and proprietor Harriet Harrison said that the decision to close the school has not been taken lightly and was made with a heavy heart.

The announcement that the school was closing left many parents struggling to find alternative provision, even with a term and a half’s notice.

Early last week it seemed that the school had been saved as local dentist and retired army officer, Dr Mark Boulcott, whose daughter is a pupil there, stepped in with a rescue plan.

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,” he said.

The school was to be run as a charitable organisation with Dr Boulcott working alongside Mrs Harrison until the end of this academic year and taking the reins completely in July.

However, parents have had their hopes dashed just days later, as Dr Boulcott has announced that it is not financially viable for him to take over the school.

In a letter seen by the Western Telegraph he says that the school has been fully investigated "from a business perspective". He said that the investigations revealed that the school had never recovered from Covid and that the idea of taking over and running the school under the current arrangements was "untenable".

Dr Boulcott added he had explored the option of opening and running the school on a different site but that the "red tape" involved in opening a new school would not only require considerable investment but could take around two years.

“Thus it is, with regret, that without immediate extensive capital investment, something we do not have, school purchase resurrection or restoration is impossible,” he wrote to parents.

“I am sorry my extensive investigations utilising the minds and skills of several knowledgeable people, including accountants have shown we cannot save this great school, it is a crying shame.

“I as a parent am greatly saddened that I had to tell staff last night that there would be no rescue plan from our team.”

He thanked the great staff for their dedication and service and wished them the best for the future.

A school insider applauded to Dr Boulcott's efforts.

"He was the only one who stepped in to try to keep the school, which is a truly magical learning space, open for the staff and pupils and his own daughter," they said.

"We all respect him so much in trying to support and save jobs."

Mrs Harrison, the school’s current head teacher, told the Western Telegraph that it was "hugely sad" that the school would close.

She emphasised that GSCE and A Level students in years 10 and 12 would be able to complete their education at Castle School up until their exams next year.

“I am completely committed to seeing our years through their GCSE and A Levels,” she said. “I am here for the next 18 months. It’s the honourable and right thing to do for these children.

“We should get really good GCSE results. We’ve got such good teachers.”

Mrs Harrison added that there was ‘never a good time to close a school’ as some children were always going to be in the middle of exams.

“I can say that people have had a term and a half to find new schools and we will see exam classes through to the end,” she said. “That has got to be the better option.”