Shapwick School near Bridgwater in 'shock' collapse

The school has 92 pupils

An independent special school for children with dyslexia and other learning difficulties is set to close after running out of funds.

The fee-paying Shapwick School in Bridgwater, whose latest Ofsted rating was "inadequate", has 92 pupils.

Somerset County Council said it would be working with families to help find new school places for the children.

The school's head, Hellen Lush, said staff had "done their level best to save the school".

She said a lot of investment had been made, but she had been informed by the governing board that "there was not enough money left".

'Shock' for parents

The co-ed school caters for eight to 19-year-olds who are a mix of boarders and day pupils.

A Somerset County Council spokesman said: "We were made aware [ on 25 March] that the school trustees had taken the decision to close the school permanently at the end of this term.

"We appreciate this must be a shock for parents and pupils, as it is to the local authority.

"Over the next few weeks we will be talking to families through the required statutory processes and will identify suitable new school places for these children."

In 2017, Ofsted inspectors found "teaching, learning and assessment is not consistently good throughout the school".