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A major private school that has been around for over a century has announced it will close amid increasing financial pressures across the wider private education sector. The decision will result in hundreds of students having to move to alternative schools.

Rendcomb College in Circenster, Gloucestershire, will be closing permanently this summer after 106 years in operation. The school first opened in 1920 and currently teaches day pupils and boarders. The school says that ongoing financial pressures facing private schools and a drop in pupil numbers are the reasons for the outcome.

Now, 380 children will have to find alternative schools to attend.

The shock closures come at a difficult time within the private education sector. More than 100 independent schools have been forced to close since the Labour Party introduced the 20% VAT on fees at the start of last year.

Saqib Bhatti, Shadow Education minister, condemned the policy, calling it an "ideological attack".

He told The Telegraph: "Labour's schools tax is an ideological attack on aspiration and on people who work hard to be able to invest in their children's education."

"Every time a school is forced to close thanks to this tax, it means more children's lives are disrupted and more pressure on the state sector."

A statement on Rendcomb College's website reads: "Despite Rendcomb College's extremely strong track record as a school, the reality is that current and projected pupil numbers, alongside the economic situation facing independent schools across the country, do not make the school financially viable in the future. It has therefore reluctantly been decided that the school will close at the end of the academic year.

"The staff and Governors have done everything to make Rendcomb College an excellent school, and its closure is highly unfortunate but sadly unavoidable."

The institution described it as a "very sad decision" and explained that it will focus on helping the 380 pupils find appropriate options, and staff alternative employment opportunities.

Christian San José, headmaster at Wycliffe College in Stonehouse, confirmed his school can accommodate Rendcomb pupils across all year groups.

However, local councillor Paul Hodgkinson warned that the announcement would have consequences for the surrounding area, adding that many homes in the village are owned by school staff and "so it's going to have a real impact on the wider community".