A LEARNING centre that has supported thousands of children is being forced to close due to a lack of funding.

The Wickford Collaboration of Schools will shut its centre in Grange Avenue, Wickford after a decade of offering Wickford schoolchildren additional learning support.

The centre was set up after a £3.5m grant from the Government and offered students additional learning on top of the school curriculum using technology not used in schools.

The schools that worked with the centre included Abacus Primary, Castledon Special School, Grange Primary, Hilltop Infants, Bromfords School and Sixth Form College, among others.

Schools were paying £25 per child in 2010 but this was later reduced to £12 in 2019.

Rachel Voller, 50, who worked as part of the organisation said it has become an integral part of the town.

She said: “We now estimate it would cost about £110,000 each year to keep the centre going.

“The schools would pay per child to use the service and this would cover about £30,000 and the rest would be from raised from bookings and community lets which is not sustainable.

“We don’t know what will happen to the building.

“It is a resource that we cannot afford to lose and it an integral part of the community.

“We had about 12 schools involved and then it went down to seven schools.

“We would have liked to celebrate ten years of a creative collaboration, delivering a wide range of curriculum activities to the children of Wickford combined with an extensive holiday scheme and weekly youth clubs.

“The centre provided a unique opportunity for primary education in the town as well as becoming an integral part of the community offering social and learning opportunities for all.

“We would also like to thank the community for your support in using the services and supporting previous fundraising campaigns.”

The centre is due to close its doors for the final time on December 31.