Devastated parents face an uncertain summer after hearing the shock news a popular pre-school is closing in July.

St Andrew’s Pre-School, in High Road, Bushey, has been running for more than 40 years, but two weeks ago staff were told that the school would be closing this summer.

Head teacher Gillian Burgess, 35, said staff and parents had not been given the chance to argue a case against closing the pre-school, which has been running for 41 years.

She said: “We are very upset about this.

“It has caused a bit of an outrage. It is very upsetting - we don’t have a say.

“I found out on Friday and the church had someone handing out letters to the parents this Monday morning.”

The committee of St 'Andrew's Methodist Church runs the pre-school and according to Mrs Burgess, the reason for closing is because of financial difficulties.

Current pupils will now have to go elsewhere, but Mrs Burgess said some of the children had missed out on placements for other schools because they wanted to stay on.

Mrs Burgess has only been at St Andrew's for a year, but other members of staff have worked there for 19 years.

Around 11 members of staff will now be unemployed and 30 children will be without school places.

Reverend Richard Lowson, of St Andrews, said: “This has been an emotional and difficult decision.

“We understand the effect this will have on families and have given everyone as much notice as we can of the closure on July 22.

“The pre-school has been operating at a loss recently while the demands required to manage the pre-school have grown enormously in recent years.

“Sadly, the pre-school was no longer sustainable and closure was inevitable. This way we can manage the closure and offer help and support to those involved.”