Avon Valley College's sixth form to close after finance worries

Salisbury Plain Academies Trust said it had to shut Avon Valley College's sixth form to prevent it facing "unacceptable financial challenges"

A secondary school will close its sixth form in July after its academy chain said keeping it open would mean "unacceptable financial challenges".

Avon Valley College, in Durrington, Wiltshire, currently has 31 pupils in its sixth form.

Salisbury Plain Academies Trust, which runs the school, said that total is "significantly below a viable number".

It said projections of potential students in coming years showed running a sixth form would be "unsustainable".

Five staff are facing possible redundancy as a result of the cut.

John Nutt, chairman of the Salisbury Plain Academies Trust board, said the closure is a "very difficult decision".

The trust said it had expected to receive grant funding, which will not now be paid.

'So much upheaval'

Jess Tansey, whose daughter is in Year 12, said: "We completely understand that if money's not there then it has to close.

"Our only issue is we just wanted the school and the academy [chain] to try to keep them open for at least a year to let this year group finish.

"They must be able to find something to help these children. They've already had so much upheaval."

At its last Ofsted inspection in June 2019, Avon Valley College was found to require improvement.

It was also operating well below capacity, with 400 pupils on its roll. Its overall capacity at the time was 1,032.

While students were offered a wide range of subjects when they applied for sixth form places, "many of the courses" did not run, inspectors found.

Ofsted also found that the school's leaders were "committed to the sixth form" and had "ambitious plans for its expansion".