CHEPSTOW School, which has a predicted deficit of £385,000, is to make 11 members of staff redundant.

There is to a mixture of voluntary and compulsory redundancy at Chepstow School which includes a deputy headteacher post and an assistant headteacher. Four teachers and five support staff are also to be made redundant.

The redundancies are part of the school's recovery plan which is in the final process and awaiting approval from Monmouthshire council.

Last September the predicted deficit at Chepstow School was £352,000 but in February a report which went to Monmouthshire council’s cabinet showed this was set to increased to £385,000 by the end of this year. Headteacher Claire Price, who was appointed in 2012, said the recovery plan would ensure that the school was out of the deficit within three years.

She said: "We are a successful school with good and improving results. Cuts in funding are affecting all schools in Wales.

"It is a difficult time. Chepstow School has cut some staff, a decision that will enable us to make sure that the young people of our school continue to make excellent progress.

"Our focus remains on delivering the best possible education for our students whilst ensuring our financial security in the future."

She said that staff morale was 'good' and that everyone was doing very well. She said she didn't have concerns for Year 7 pupil numbers which she said had have grown from 118 to 184 in the past two years.

Sarah McGuinness, Monmouthshire council's chief officer for children and young people, said: “Chepstow School is currently addressing a budget deficit position. The school is following due process and we can confirm that approximately 11 redundancies are forecast.

"However, the school and the local authority are working together to try to minimise the effects, and in line with protection of employment policy, all possible means will be sought before making compulsory redundancies. As part of the process, the school is ensuring that all necessary measures are taken to support staff.”

Monmouthshire council have frozen schools's budgets for 2015/16, which means an average secondary school in the county will have its budget reduced by £116,457.

Cllr Dale Rooke, deputy mayor of Chepstow and school governor at Thornwell Primary, said he had concerns that the freezing of the budgets for schools in Monmouthshire could lead to more redundancies for staff in schools across the county.

He said: "Inflation doesn't stop and our costs are going to increase but we will have the same budget. It has been left to governors to deal with the aftermath which I don' think is particularly fair.

“It is certainly not good for pupils to lose experienced staff and the morale of staff certainly can't be good when they are worried who will be going to go next."