A preschool that has been teaching children in Sevenoaks for more than 50 years could be forced to close unless vital funds are raised before the new school year.

St Mary's Preschool, a charity based in Riverhead Village Hall, has launched an emergency appeal to raise the £30,000 needed to see it through the summer since Covid-19 has exhausted savings and halted vital fundraising opportunities.

Since the start of the pandemic, the number of children enrolled has slowly fallen from 45 to just 17 meaning St Mary's, like many other nurseries and preschools, has seen a drop in funding from the government.

The supervisor Sue Shuttleworth, says unless more money is found the school, which has become a staple in the community, could close permanently.

Ms Shuttleworth, who has been running the school for 22 years, said: "From January, we are only being funded for the children we have on site which does not cover our costs.

"We have enough money to get to the summer, but after that we don’t know what we’re going to do.

"It's devastating to be faced with this because we have worked so hard to make it a lovely school for the children."

St Mary's Preschool is a small charity run by a committee of parents next to St Mary's Church.

It is open from 9am to 3pm four days a week and has cared for more than 2,000 children over half a century.

It usually relies on Summer fairs and Christmas grottos to boost funding but all events have been put on hold during the pandemic.

In a plea to save the school, the committee has launched a Go Fund Me page. The money raised will pay for everything from rent to staff wages and play equipment.

So far £526 has been raised.

Committee member Robert Monton, whose two children Albert, seven, and Olive, four, both went to St Mary's, fears unless the money is found and more children sign up, this could be the end of an era.

He said: "The charity has always been sensible with money, but sadly Covid has been going on for so long and it has affected us deeply.

"It would be a real shame if we were to close. I would just love for other families to have the same experience that my kids had here.

"Olive loves it, when I pick her up she never wants to leave, it really is a community.

"We also want more people to know we are here. Because we are a charity and we are not directly next to primary schools, we can often be overlooked so if anyone is looking for a place for their child in September we'd love to have them join us."

To visit the Go Fund Me page, click here.

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