Four-hundred year-old West Cumbrian school to close

As you know, with your support, the Rescue Group and its many supporters has worked hard all week in accordance with our commitment to you at Monday’s Community Meeting – to have a look at what might be done to save the school but without any guarantees as to success. The reason for choosing a week is that we are very conscious that, if we were unable to find a guaranteed way to save the school, students need to look for places at other schools and the staff, teaching and support, need to look for alternative employment.

We have only had a week and much of the business information about the school could not be supplied to us until Friday. We hope you understand that under these circumstances we cannot develop a business plan with the underpinning that is needed to allow us to confirm that we have found a way to save the school.

From what we have seen there is the possibility that a business model can be developed which will allow continuation of the educational tradition at St Bees as an independent public school or maybe in some other model. However, we must not mislead you that such a model could be implemented to prevent closure of the school at the end of the summer term”

"We are very sad to hear of the impending closure of St Bees School. It has a long and distinguished history of providing education in west Cumbria – and has close links with the Church. The Bishop of Carlisle, who is away on sabbatical at the moment, is one of the Governors, and the Vicar at St Bees is also the chaplain at the school.

"The school has over the years educated the children of many church people, including the children of clergy, and all that it has offered has been greatly appreciated.

"We want to pay particular tribute to the Headmaster, Mr James Davies, and the all the staff – teaching and non-teaching – for their work. The Headmaster especially has worked tirelessly to turn the school around, and had made great strides.

"Sadly the background of comparatively small numbers in the wider and local catchment areas, hard pressed family finances, and a complex global situation making it difficult to recruit international boarders, all mean that the school has proved in the end not to be financially sustainable.

"We know that the School will do all it can for all those affected by the closure. Many in the county will keep them in their prayers over the coming weeks."

“The governors have considered every possible solution. They wish to acknowledge publicly the untiring effort the Headmaster and his team have put into our recent recruitment campaigns, both day and boarding. We also recognise the financial and other support the school has received from a number of sources, most notably the Old St Beghians. Without that support, it is likely that we would have reached this point much earlier.

“We examined carefully the possibility of converting the school to a non-fee-charging Free School. However, the funding formula available from central government would not be sufficient to sustain a feasible business plan for the school, even assuming that the government were to approve our application

“We have concluded, however, that the only practical option left open to us is, while there are still the resources to do so, to close the school in as orderly and considerate a manner as possible.

“This is a desperately sad day for all of us. We have worked extremely hard to try to avoid this outcome but what matters now, the governors’ decision having been made, is to ensure that our pupils and staff suffer as little as possible.

“All my efforts for the next four months will be to ensure that pupils continue to receive top-quality education and pastoral care, that examination candidates are not distracted, that parents receive help and support in trying to place their children in other schools and that we do everything possible to support our exceptional staff.”