10 hours ago
Parents confident they can save school after raising £1.3m
Parents confident they can save school after raising £1.3m
The money was donated in a matter of weeks after the shock announcement by the owners of St Clare's School in Porthcawl
St Clare's School, Porthcawl
Parents who send their children to a private school threatened with closure say they're confident they can save it after raising their target £1.3m to do so. The money was donated in a matter of weeks after the shock announcement by the owners of St Clare's School in Porthcawl that they were closing it.
Owners Cognita said the school was successful academically but "economic volatility" and "factors beyond our control" meant they would have to shut it at the end of the Christmas term this year.
In a letter to parents Cognita also blamed the falling local birth rate. They said projected pupil numbers for next academic year make the school "unsustainable". Sign up for our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here.
Parents determined to save the school disagree and say they now have a "viable" plan to keep the school open and hopefully in the same location. The building and grounds are owned by the Dalton family which leases them to Cognita, the group said.
Natasha Bray, who has two children at the school was speaking on behalf of the campaign to save St Clare's. She said: "We have raised £1.3m which is phenomenal. We have had amazing support from parents and the local community. We have set up a charitable trust and are continuing to explore options."
Helen Hier, head teacher of St Clare's School, Porthcawl
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Talks are ongoing with Cognita as well as with Ffynone House, an independent school in Swansea which was also saved by parents. A trust the St Clare's Charitable Trust has been set up to run and manages the campaign funds and plan.
"Everyone is still hopeful but with the longer time some parents are getting anxious and some students are leaving. But there are stil a lot of children who want to stay if we can fins a solution," said Natasha.
"St Clare's is a fantastic school. It's more than a school, it's a family and a community. Everybody knows each other and children can be here from aged three to 18 so it's their whole young lives.
"We are doing everything we can to keep the school open and we are very confident we have everything we need to move forward."
In a statement on its website the Save St Clare's Trust said: "On Tuesday 6th May 2025, Cognita UK wrote to parents informing them that due to factors outside their control, they had begun a consultation with the staff about a proposal to close the school in December 2025.
"The announcment left parents reeling, some having only started with the school at the beginning of the term or academic year. The news was particularly upsetting for our Year 10 and Year 12 students, who will be left without support for GCSE and A-Level courses not due to be completed until May/June 2026."
St Clare's says on its website that it charges fees of between £2,000 and £6,000 a term for children aged from nursery to sixth form. The non-selective school, which is understood to have around 150 pupils, is run by education company Cognita UK, which operates a number of schools across the UK.
In her letter announcing the news from St Clare's to parents in May Nicola Lambros, general manager of Cognita, UK said the school would do everything it could to help them find alternative places at a local school for their children should the decision be taken to close. St Clare's has entered into negotiations with staff affected.
Ms Lambros said the decision was not a reflection of the school's academic success but of other factors.
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Her letter added: "We recently carried out a full review of the school's sustainability in response to the rapidly-changing environment for independent schools. This included determining the demand for independent school places within the local catchment area both now and in the future.
"Sadly the review has concluded that factors outside our control, including the falling local birth rate and economic volatility mean our pupil numbers are projected to be at an unsustainable level next academic year."
