FUTURE Tech Studio School is to close – less than three years after it opened.

Parents were called to a meeting at the school yesterday, Wednesday, for staff to break the news that it will shut at the end of the academic year.

The multi-million pound school, which opened on Warrington Collegiate’s Winwick Road campus in September 2014, aimed to give 14 to 19-year-olds a curriculum specialising in engineering, IT and telecommunications.

It offered GCSEs and vocational qualifications and had room for 300 students.

But in September the school closed its year 12 provision due to low student numbers, forcing 11 pupils to find places at other schools.

Cllr Colin Froggatt (LAB – Poulton South) said there was no need for extra pupil places at the time Future Tech Studio School was built and added it was sad the school’s students would now be unsettled by the closure.

He added: “At the time Future Tech opened Warrington had in excess of 1,000 unfilled secondary school places and warnings were given that the town would have difficulty filling these extra places. 

“The warnings were not heeded. Since the Government launched its programme to promote age 14 to 19 colleges seven have closed due to a mixture of poor results and lack of students.

“It’s a pity ‘the powers that be’ showed such a lack of foresight in promoting this failed venture, against all the available statistical analysis, which has disrupted the education of the remaining students. 

“I am sure they can be successfully catered for back in mainstream education for which Warrington has a good record.”

A spokesman for Warrington Borough Council said: “Future Tech is directly funded by the Government and is not the responsibility of the council. 

“Unfortunately it would seem it has been unable to maintain sufficient students and is therefore going to close at the end of the academic year.

“We will be working with Future Tech to ensure the best possible transition for the 47 students who are affected.”

The school’s current principal is Gail Stonier but it was opened by its first head teacher Lee Barber, who left in 2015 to open the University Technical College in the town’s Stadium Quarter.

Future Tech Studio School would not comment on the closure but a spokesman for the Department for Education said it is working with Warrington Collegiate Education Trust, which runs the school.

As the paper went to press, the school had appeared to close its social media accounts.