A PRIVATE school in Haverfordwest has invested £1m in a new site.

Redhill Preparatory School has made the investment to buy and refurbish new premises at the Garth, Haverfordwest in time for the new term this September.

The £1m investment will provide better access, new science and classrooms, while allowing increasing the school’s capacity to 160 children.

Established in 2001 by maths teacher Meryl Lovegrove and her husband, Peter, the independent school caters for pupils up to 11-years-old.

With fee income projected to exceed £600,000 next year, employing 35 staff and with pupil numbers rising, the school continues to flourish despite the difficult economic climate.

School principal Meryl Lovegrove said: “We have significantly invested in our school in recent years to create an environment to nurture and develop talented individuals.

“Our existing site limited our development, so when we found out that we could not renew our lease due to a proposed housing development we faced the tough choice of finding a new site or closing the school.

“Fortunately we found a great location nearby and with the support of our Barclays business manager created a funding package to enable us to develop a fantastic new school, while extending our Montessori Nursery provision and Holiday Club facilities”.

She added: “We are only one of three schools across Wales which utilises Montessori learning within our nursery, early years and infant provision and we have recently received a very strong Estyn inspection report with most areas identified as good or excellent, demonstrating outstanding practice.

“While we are a private school we are very much part of the local community and provide a holiday club for local children during the summer holidays, and we plan to use the new facilities at the new site to offer adult teaching and offer our facilities for hire to the local community.

“The success of the school is determined by the great staff, great children and the support of the parents.

“The school has evolved over recent years and the move to the new premises will allow us to grow and continue to be a vital asset to the local community.”