POP Idol Will Young's old school in Marlborough will close at the end of this term.

Owners Michael and Judith Innes Williams blame the closure of Kingsbury Hill House School on a succession of rumours about its future.

Numbers at the school school in Kingsbury Street, which is due to celebrate its 60th anniversary next year, have plummeted by one third. The total has dropped from 180 pupils, aged three to 13, to 120 and from September the school has just 59 enrolled.

Parents receive a letter from Mr Innes Williams on Saturday to say the school will close at the end of the term.

The 14 full-time teachers and other staff were told on Tuesday last week that the school would be shutting permanently in July.

Mr and Mrs Innes Williams said they have not made any decisions about the future of the school building and the one acre site that stretches between Kingsbury Street and Herd Street.

The couple told the Gazette that with the falling numbers the school was no longer financially viable and could not be sold as a going concern.

They bought the school in 1992 from William Washbrook, who died three weeks ago in retirement in Malvern.

In its almost 60 years life the school has taught the sons and daughters of the rich and famous.

This week some parents said they had been astounded to receive letters at the weekend saying the school would close.

Some parents claimed the notice gave them very little time in which to find new schools.

Other similar schools in the area including St Francis at Pewsey and Pinewood at Shrivenham have been inundated with transfer applications from KHHS parents.

Mr and Mrs Innes Williams said there had been a growing number of rumours about the school over the past two years resulting in some parents choosing to send their children elsewhere.

When the couple bought Kingsbury Hill House in 1992, Mr Innes Williams had previously taught at Westminster School, it had about 70 pupils. Over the next nine years numbers steadily increased and they had to build extra classrooms to accommodate 180 in 2001.

In the letter to parents the headmaster said: "However, since then, numbers have steadily declined, to 165 in 2002, 140 in 2003 and to 115 in 2004.

"As of this week forecast numbers for this September are around 60 pupils. Looking ahead, the figures for the coming academic year do not give much encouragement for a return to normal."

All schools, said Mr Innes Williams in his letter, are subject to demographic and economic factors.

He added: "Over the last two years we have seen an unusual number of children leave from classes throughout the school as parents have moved away from Marlborough or have chosen a different educational route for their sound personal reasons.

The letter continued: "It is a sad fact that parental preference has also been swayed over the last two-and-a-half years by unfortunate and unfounded rumours, none of which has had any basis is in fact."

The couple said rumours began when they tried to buy a property outside the town with a view to expanding the school and were fuelled when they put their home at West Kennett on the market and bought a property in France.

Some parents were led to believe the future of the school was uncertain and moved their children to other schools.

Will Young was a pupil at KHHS in the mid 90's before moving on to public school and then university. His twin brother Kevin also attended the school.