Teachers and staff joining forces to '˜save our pre-school'

Nicholson Hall Pre-School in Gosport is on the hunt for a new place to call home, after the church it is currently housed in announced it would be closing down.

But despite spending the past year looking for a new site, the future of the pre-school has now been cast into doubt.

Now, parents and staff have joined forces for one final bid to save their pre-school.

Tom Barnett, 34, has a son that goes to the pre-school.

He said: ‘My son has been at the pre-school for three years – it’s such a lovely community pre-school run by wonderful people that do a great job.

‘To hear that it could be disappearing is a real shame.

‘I’m pretty sad about it because its such a nice place and has been going for ages.’

‘If we could find another space for the pre-school to continue it would be fantastic.’

Annetta Reid, 33, said: ‘My child goes to Nicholson Hall at the moment.

‘It’s an amazing pre-school and they’ve really helped my child to grow as a person.

‘All of us parents have received an email about what’s happening but they have been trying to find a home for a long time now.

‘This place is like a piece of history – it’s been around for so long and it would be a tragedy to see it disappear, especially after helping out so many youngsters in the past.

‘What’s even worse is that all the staff, who do such a great job, will also be losing their jobs if they can’t find a new home.’

Top bosses from Nicholson Hall Pre-School have had a meeting with a potential venue – but say that nothing is set in stone yet.

Manager Karen Morby said: ‘We were given a year’s notice about this and have been looking for a new home, but there just doesn’t seem to be anywhere to go.

‘The search has been very difficult to be honest, because it’s such a small area and there’s just nowhere affordable for us to go.

‘The parents themselves have been incredibly supportive and we cannot thank them enough, but at the moment the future of the pre-school remains uncertain.’