A LETTER including the names of teachers who will be leaving Malmesbury School due to a cash crisis is to be sent to parents next week.

But headteacher Malcolm Trobe has refused to say how many would be leaving as a result of the cuts and said the letter would not differentiate the redundancies from the list of staff leaving for other reasons.

The school announced at the beginning of May that up to six teachers would have to be made redundant to tackle a predicted £300,000 deficit in this year's budget.

Mr Trobe said the redundancies were a necessary measure and action was needed now to prevent the school sinking further into debt.

He said most of the redundancies had been achieved through early retirement and teachers moving to other jobs.

However, parents were worried that the reduction of teachers, which would come into effect at the start of the new academic year, would mean bigger class sizes and less teacher time for pupils.

Julianna Beardsmore, of Corston, a mother with three children at the school, said: "I think the main concern is that class sizes are increasing and that means less individual attention for pupils. I'm also worried it would have an effect on the range of subjects available at GCSE level."

Mr Trobe admitted an increase in class sizes for some subjects and year groups were a likely consequence but added that he was confident the quality of teaching and the range of subjects would remain high.

He said: "The school governors have always put the needs of the students first and have been very strong in keeping class numbers down."

The school had received increases in some budget areas this year but has been hit by lost grants, rising staff costs and reduced sixth form funding.