A SCHOOL for children with autism is being forced to close because of a lack of pupils, with the potential loss of 120 jobs.

Staff at Coddington Court School have been sent a letter saying that the school will close its doors by August 31 at the latest.

The school, near Colwall, is owned by the charity Autism West Midlands, which is based in Edgbaston.

The charity opened the school in 2001, to provide residential schooling for up to 36 pupils with autism aged from 11 to 18.

The idea was that local authorities across the West Midlands would pay for autistic children to go there, but the school currently only has 19 pupils.

Carolyn Bailey, chief executive of Autism West Midlands, blamed the lack of pupils on changes in thinking on how to deal with autistic children since the school was opened.

"Since the school was opened, the government has put in place a policy of inclusion, which means that many more local authorities educate children with autism at their own school, instead of at schools like ours. I know that Coddington Court is by no means the only school of its type to be suffering like this," she said. "This is a tremendous disappointment for us."

But she said the charity will continue its work in other areas, including family and adult support services, support for employers, and educations and training about autism.

She said the charity is likely to put the Coddington Court property on the market once the school is closed.

The closure will mean the loss of jobs for 120 staff who work at the school, including teachers, carers, maintenance and domestic staff. The charity is currently consulting staff about redundancies.

The school opened its doors in 2001, having bought Coddington Court from its previous owner, the oil exploration company Clyde Petroleum. The opening of the school was described at the time as a dream come true for Autism West Midlands.