A private school in Scotland has warned staff they could lose their jobs as a result of financial difficulties brought about by a sharp drop in pupil numbers.

A private school in Scotland has warned staff they could lose their jobs as a result of financial difficulties brought about by a sharp drop in pupil numbers.

Nine members of the school's administrative and finance team are currently in talks about their future and one member of staff has already been made redundant. However, the school said none of the teaching staff was affected.

The Herald understands action was taken after the parents of some 20% of existing pupils at Belmont House, on the outskirts of Glasgow, decided to remove their children at the end of the current academic year.

The decline has been blamed on the impact of the current recession, which has made it harder for parents who send their children to private school to pay fees.

However, the economic downturn is not thought to be the only issue at Belmont House, in Newton Mearns.

One parent told The Herald that families - who pay annual fees of up to £9045 - were "voting with their feet" after a poor set of exam results last summer.

"It is very sad that staff could be losing their jobs, but academic performance is well short of the mark compared to other private schools who don't charge as much," the parent said.

"The fact that so many parents who are leaving are going to other private schools shows this is not an issue about the ability to pay fees, but reflects what is happening at the school."

However, Melville Shanks, the school principal, said the recession was more of a factor, although he admitted the exam results "undoubtedly caused a great deal of concern".

"As a small school, with very small presentation numbers both in whole year groups and in individual subjects when compared to virtually all of our state and independent neighbours, we have to accept that we are subject to wide statistical variations from year to year," he said.

"However, we currently live in extremely challenging economic times for all sectors of our society and we have suffered because of that.

"We are acutely aware of the pressures on family budgets and remain firmly committed to providing value for money."

Despite the current difficulties, Mr Shanks said he was confident the school had a bright future.

"We are very positive and feel this restructuring is a short-term phenomenon driven by the difficult current circumstances."

Estimates suggest the financial impact on the 350-pupil school of losing some 60 pupils could be as much as £400,000.

The situation has been exacerbated by the fact that Belmont House was hoping to increase pupil numbers next year, from 350 to 380, to support its business plan to refurbish the main building and add a new junior school.

Belmont House was founded in 1929 as a boys' preparatory school in the Giffnock area of Glasgow and is due to celebrate its 80th anniversary this year.

In 1934 the school moved to its current location in the former mansion house of the Broom Estate.

In 1977 it expanded to become an all-through school and in 2000 it became co-educational.

Private schools said to be benefiting from the drop in pupil numbers at Belmont House are Hutchesons' Grammar School, Glasgow Academy and Kelvinside Academy, all in Glasgow.