TEACHERS at Wentworth College were due to be made redundant on Monday if an eleventh hour bail-out by a leading church school charity had not gone ahead.

The United Church Schools Trust took over the running of the 137-year-old independent school on Boscombe Manor at the weekend after it went into administration on July 28.

Yesterday Charlotte Rendle-Short, the trust's deputy chief executive, told the Daily Echo: "The staff's P45s had been printed and redundancies were due to be made on Monday.

"We were all on tenterhooks; lawyers and accountants burned the midnight oil on Friday to save the day.

"I received a text message on Saturday morning to tell me that our bid had been successful."

Ms Rendle-Short, a former head teacher at Sunderland High School, said the school's 50 members of staff, who were not paid in July, would receive their salaries this week.

"There will be a staff meeting on Wednesday, an arms around', when we will reassure them. They must have been very worried about their jobs, which were at risk until the last minute. We have also written to parents to tell them things are back to normal."

Ms Rendle-Short pledged that Wentworth College would open on September 3 with approximately 150 pupils.

"One or two have dropped out but we have also attracted some new pupils. I'm encouraged by student numbers; our aim is to increase them and make the school financially viable.

"Parents and pupils shouldn't notice much difference. As had been planned, we will be welcoming boys for the first time and there will be boarders and day students. Fees will stay the same.

"We plan to gradually implement changes. We have 11 schools in England and 15 city academies. There will be some joint activities between Wentworth and Hampshire Collegiate in Romsey, particularly for the boys."

Ms Rendle-Short added: "Wentworth's annual inspection reports have been fantastic; it is an outstanding school and we plan to continue its success - hopefully for another century."