PARENTS at a popular middle school faced with closure have welcomed a letter from Catholic education chiefs explaining their decision.

Staff, parents and students at St Louis Middle School, in Bury St Edmunds, were stunned to discover the top-performing school, rated as “outstanding” by Ofsted last year, was set to close in 2013.

The East Anglian Daily Times launched a campaign to Save St Louis when the East Anglian Diocesan Schools’ Service announced in November the middle school would close to become part of a two-tier catholic system, four years ahead of the rest of Bury.

But in a letter sent out to parents yesterday, the Diocesan Schools’ Service Commission (DSSC) admitted the announcement could have been handled “differently”.

Rachel Gudi, a parent who is campaigning to save the school, said she was pleased the diocese had spoken.

“It is good to have some information and to recognise that things could have been handled a bit more sensitively the first time around,” she said.

In the letter, the DSSC set out a time line for a formal consultation into the proposal to close St Louis as a middle school.

The dates of three meetings this month at which parents can question diocesan education chiefs about the move were also set out.