A PRESCHOOL manager has spoken of her devastation at being forced to close.

Sarah Overson, who has run North Drive Preschool in Grove for ten years, has also warned the rapidly-growing population will be left with only one preschool – which has just been rated Inadequate by Ofsted.

North Drive is shutting on July 20 this year because Grove CofE Primary next door, which owns the land, is planning to expand on that site.

Mrs Overson has been forced to lay off her staff – including her own 20-year-old daughter – and tell parents and children they cannot come back in September.

She said: "I'm absolutely gutted, and so are the parents.

"At first I was trying to be blasé about it but now I can't, and every now and again I get a real lurch.

"This job is my passion, and the most important thing is the children."

Mrs Overson warned that Grove parents would now be left without a choice of preschools to help their children's development.

The village, which had a population of ?7,178 in the 2011 census, is set to more than double in size as 2,500 homes are built on the its Second World War airfield.

Another 824 homes are being built on the new 'Monk's Farm' estate north of the village, on fields currently overlooked by Grove CofE and North Drive Preschool.

But come September, the village will just have one preschool – Grovelands, which was this month given the lowest-possible rating by Ofsted and told to improve urgently.

Mrs Overson said: "Where are all the children going to go?

"For parents, giving us their children gives them an education, but it also gives parents a chance to do their jobs.

"With all the new-builds coming, we now need at least two new preschools or children will be stuck at home with parents not getting the same development."

When Ofsted last visited North Drive, the inspector praised it for putting on an 'interesting and varied range of fun, stimulating activities which children thoroughly enjoy'.

The report concluded that children were 'well prepared for starting school'.

Grove CofE headteacher Sue Gould said she entirely agreed that preschools were valuable in preparing children for primary school.

She said: "As the head of a primary I would love every child to go to nursery or preschool because it helps to raise standards of education."

Regarding the closure of North Drive she went on: "Having worked with them since 1998 we are really sad to let them go, but looking forward to the eventual redevelopment that is going to happen."

She also explained that the Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust which runs Grove CofE had already extended North Drive's lease one year from August 2017.

Trust chief operating officer David Locke said ODST had been happy to extend North Drive’s lease last year and since then 'agreed' with the preschool to terminate it this year.

He said the trust was 'deeply appreciative' of the preschool's work but went on: "Grove is expanding... the current school was built in the 1960s and needs modernising.

"We are working very closely with the local authority and planning a redevelopment to provide more modern facility fit so that we can continue to provide an excellent education to children in an expanding community."