Decision on future of Meldreth Manor School to be made at the start of November

The board of trustees at a special school which may face closure is exploring the option of selling the service to another provider, a spokesman has confirmed.

The consultation on the proposal to close Meldreth Manor School and Children’s Home and Orchard Manor Transition Service ended on October 2, and the board of trustees met on Saturday to consider all the options.

James Watson-O’Neill – director of services at Scope, the charity which runs the school – said: “Thank you to everyone who has contributed their time and energy to this consultation.

“The board of trustees has not made a final decision about the future of Meldreth Manor and Orchard Manor as they would like to explore selling the services to another provider. This is a recent development put forward separately to the consultation.

“The board will meet again at the beginning of November to make a decision about whether to sell the service to another provider. We will then talk to everyone involved about what this may mean for staff and the young people at Meldreth and Orchard Manor.

“Our priority continues to be the education, care and support of each young person at these services. We would like to thank our staff for their continued commitment during this difficult and unsettling time.”

Campaign group Save Meldreth Manor was established by members of the public after the board of trustees proposed to close the school.

The group has more than 2,500 members on Facebook and almost 5,000 people signed the petition to keep the facility open on change.org, and has gained support from celebrities such as film star Nick Frost, Peter Andre and Star Wars actor Warwick Davis.