A preschool which went ‘above and beyond’ to teach children in Locking has closed.
Heartfelt messages have poured in for The Ark Preschool, in The Green, on social media to thank its teachers for their dedication to supporting pupils over the years at the institution.
The preschool opened in April 2013 and has taught children aged two to three across the district for the past six-and-a-half years.
Three full-time members of staff have been made redundant as a result of the closure, and the committee which runs The Ark said increased financial pressures have forced them to close the preschool.
Teacher at The Ark, Karen Compitus, said: "It is with a heavy heart and enormous sadness to say on November 29 The Ark Preschool closed its doors for the very last time.
"We have welcomed and nurtured some incredible children and their families over the years who will never be forgotten by us.
"The best gift we have received by far has been to be able to play a part in these young children's lives and early development.
"Our team has changed slightly over the years, however, we have stayed true to our promise and kept our preschool small, just as the original committee set out to do.
"I can't personally thank everyone enough for their support over the years."
Karen has spent six-and-a-half years working at the place of learning and parents with youngsters at the preschool said staff have 'always done everything they could' for pupils studying there.
They also praised its teachers for bolstering children's confidence for future learning.
A spokesman at the preschool said: "Like many institutions, we are facing increasing costs. So it is not just one cause, there are so many reasons.
"We are a charity organisation and a committee-run preschool and we looked at many ways we could keep it open, but reached a conclusion that we had to close.
"Parents have known for a while about the closure, and we have tried to be as supportive as we can.
"We knew we were going to have problems when the new school year started, which prompted us to look at a number of ways to bring the costs down.
"At the end of the day, we were just out of options."
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