HEARTBROKEN parents have reacted to a nursery’s closure announcement after 33 years.

The owner of Beehive Montessori School in Amersham Lyndsey Nelson, 56, told parents recently she had made the “very hard decision” to close after more than three decades at the end of the Autumn term. 

Sadly, juggling the demands of the admin work in the changed landscape requiring longer nursery hours had made the job she loves “very exhausting,” she said.

She wrote in a letter to the parents: “This has been a very hard decision to make. I care so much for you and your families that I’ve tried so very hard to find a satisfactory outcome right up to the last minute. It’s been a very emotional time for me because your children are so precious to me”

Now parents have shared their memories of the nursery on Bucks Free Press social media, including the parent Lyndsey’s very first pupil 33 years ago.

 Lorraine Carole Cooper said: “I am beyond sad to read this. My daughter Eleanor was Lyndsey’s very first pupil 33 years ago. I still have her receipt with No. 1 on it and we were privileged to see how the school grew. The Beehive Montessori gave both my daughter and my Son the absolute best start in school life. They loved it from the start and have so many happy memories. They made friends there that they still have. The caring environment and the Montessori method ensured that my children were able to read and write before they joined their mainstream village school. This is a huge loss to nursery education and I know what a difficult decision this must have been for Lyndsey who loves her work and her children with a passion. All I can do is wish her the very best and say Thank You.”

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Jenny Reed said: “How very sad for all these closures, when my children were small it was about the children not all about the endless paperwork which is what it is about today sadly.”

Lisa Joel: “What an amazing lady Lyndsey Nelson is and is loved by so many children and families. My daughter who is now 14 had the very best start in life at the Beehive and we have so many fond memories of her time there.”

Claire Essling said: “What a shame, my little girl went there when she was 3 a couple of years ago. What a wonderful nursery this is, Lyndsey and the staff are amazing and so caring. My Daughter loved going there, I'm really sad to see this.”

Abigail Findley said: “Lyndsey still holds a very special place in my own children’s [hearts]. They are 12 and 14 now. Quite a remarkable woman. And sad to see that red tape and lack of funds is responsible for her to be closing this wonderful place.”

Lynn Pearce: “Lyndsey This is such sad news as an ex employee (from years ago) and someone who follows your social media with such fond memories of Montessori life. Wishing you well for the Autumn term and for the future."