Nursery closing after 27 years a ‘blow’

A West Sussex children’s nursery closed for the last time on Thursday after 27 years.

HeadStart Day Nursery has been based at Collyer’s College in Horsham since it was first founded.

But the college is expanding and now needs to reclaim its premises.

Earlier this month, devastated nursery owner Clare French told of her desperate battle – helped by scores of worried parents – to keep the nursery going.

But a search f o r alternative premises failed and parents have been seeking new places for their children – and nursery staff have been seeking new jobs.

Clare said the closure had come as a ‘devasting blow’ to all concerned.

Many parents had previously banded together seeking help in keeping the nursery going.

They organised a protest petiition and sought help from Horsham MP Jeremy Quin.

Collyer’s principal Dan Lodge said that the nursery had been a valued part of the college for a long time.

But, he said, it was not possible to delay the college’s expansion any further. He said to do so would mean having to turn away students in September 2023.

He added: “While we are of course concerned that the options explored by the nursery for relocation have not been able to go ahead, sadly we cannot delay any more projects which are critical for the future of Collyer’s and over 2,200 1618 year old students.”

HeadStart Day Nursery was rated as Outstanding in all areas by Ofsted when it was last inspected in 2016.