STAFF at Future Tech Studio School have been praised for their hard work by parents and pupils.

The school, which a source claims cost £9 million to build, has been open for less than three years but is now due to close at the end of the academic year.

Parents were called to a meeting last Wednesday, March 1 where staff broke the news to them.

Following the announcement, some residents blamed the newly opened Warrington UTC school in the town’s Stadium Quarter for the closure of Future Tech.

One parent said former principal Lee Barber, who helped set up Future Tech in 2014 and then left to set up Warrington UTC, and other staff who ‘bailed’ on the school should be ‘ashamed’.

Principal Gail Stonier was appointed at Future Tech in 2015.

And one student commenting on the UTC Facebook page said the new college ‘impacted’ on the number of students signing up for the studio school.

The UTC was approached but refused to comment on the closure.

The council confirmed 47 pupils at Future Tech will be affected and it will support them through the transition.

Petitions have also been started by parents and students hoping to save the school. 

One youngster wrote: “Myself and many others will agree that it’s wrong to put us as students through this, especially in such a crucial time that could affect the rest of our lives. I want to finish my GCSEs here, because it has a brilliant learning environment. The teaching style is amazing, guiding each student towards the path that will benefit them most.”

A parent commenting on the closure said: “It’s not about wasted money, it’s about what is going to happen to the students who are affected. They need to be made the number one priority.”

Another added: “My son is at university now thanks to Future Tech and the work experience gave him so much more confidence. This could have and should have been a brilliant school.”

The studio school was designed to offer vocational courses alongside academic qualifications for pupils aged 14 to 19 and has space for 300 students.

But in September it closed its year 12 provision after failing to recruit enough pupils, forcing 11 youngsters to find places at other schools.

UTC Warrington, which opened in September, also offers academic and vocational courses. In February the college claimed it has recruited more students in its first year than any other UTC in the country and was well on its way to being oversubscribed for September this year.

Future Tech declined to comment on the closure.