Owners Cognita UK confirmed earlier this week that they are proposing to close St Clare’s school down and will cease providing services by the end of December 2025.
Cognita has also confirmed the closure of its other Welsh school, Oakleigh House in Swansea.
The shock closure announcements comes as the schools owners blame declining pupil numbers and escalating costs, particularly as a result of the Government’s VAT changes to fee paying schools and rises to employers’ National Insurance contributions
Councillor Martyn Jones, Bridgend Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Youth Services, said: “Bridgend County Borough Council was notified that St Clare’s School would be closing at the end of the autumn term on the same day that parents, pupils and the media were informed, so the announcement has come as a surprise to us all.
“As such, no meetings or discussions about the closure were able to take place between the owners and the local authority prior to the announcement being made.
“At this very early stage, it is difficult to know what the likely impact of the closure will be, but our understanding is that around 190 pupils attend the school.
“Not all of the pupils who currently attend St Clare’s School will live within Bridgend County Borough, so we need to ascertain how many are likely to seek alternative educational provision which is located closer to home.
“As we are still gathering information, it is difficult to predict what the likely impact of the closure will be, but the council is currently seeking up-to-date details from the school so that we can provide affected parents and pupils with appropriate advice, support and reassurance.”
A spokesperson for Cognita said: “We recently shared some difficult news with our community at St Clare’s regarding the future of the school.
“The impact of a number of factors outside of our control, including the falling birth rate and the decrease in demand for school places, means our pupil numbers are forecast to drop to an unsustainable level next year, which sadly means we have to propose closure.
“Our priority is our families, students and staff, and we will continue to do everything we can to support them through this proposal process.”
