Bungay High School in Suffolk has cancelled its Year 12 intake just as the new school year began, the East Anglian Schools Trust told parents in a letter on Wednesday.

The trust said only 19 students had enrolled for lower sixth, a number it judged insufficient to deliver the breadth and quality of A-level provision required. In its statement, the trust said the small cohort would have left the curriculum "too adversely affected" to provide pupils with "the experience they require and deserve" and that it had made the decision "in the interests of our students".

The trust also said it would ensure that current Year 13 pupils continued to receive a "high quality" education. Leaders described the decision as one they were "deeply saddened" to have taken. The letter was sent to parents as students returned to school at the start of term.

School leaders noted a wider local shift in post-16 provision, saying that in recent years there had been an increase in alternative options for students after GCSEs, which has left Bungay High managing progressively smaller sixth-form cohorts. The trust said the school had continued to provide quality education for increasingly small groups but that this year�s lower sixth intake was too small to sustain the planned curriculum and learning opportunities.

The announcement came without details in the trust�s public statement about specific arrangements for the affected pupils beyond the cancellation and the commitment to current Year 13 students. The school did not outline whether affected Year 12 applicants would be assisted in finding places at other local sixth-form colleges or further education providers.

The decision illustrates the pressures on small school sixth forms in areas where alternative post-16 options have expanded. Schools and trusts must balance the desire to offer local provision with the practical need for sufficient numbers to run A-level courses effectively. The trust did not provide an immediate timeline for any review of the decision or indicate whether future cohorts might be accommodated if enrolment numbers rise.

The report was first published by BBC News Suffolk and compiled from a statement by the East Anglian Schools Trust.