Diagrama Chief Executive David McGuire met with the board of governors at Walden School today following Diagrama's work there over the past few days.

The purpose of Diagrama attending the school this week has been to undertake preliminary due diligence, which included meeting with staff and parents in an effort to ascertain the likely numbers of teachers and pupils willing to return to the school in September. Diagrama attempted to meet with senior managers although a number of them refused the request.

The feedback from meetings with staff and parents was positive and Diagrama was encouraged to move forward with the more detailed due diligence procedure, anticipated to take in the region of 3-4 weeks. Whilst this is a tight time frame it was driven by Diagrama's appreciation of the anxiety caused by the continued uncertainty, and the foundation was therefore prepared to make every effort to complete the process as swiftly as possible.

At the meeting with the governors today Diagrama indicated its intention to proceed but that - given the frustrations experienced by Diagrama's staff and Chief Executive by reason of the limited information available to date - it would require the full co-operation of the board of governors and full access to records.

The board indicated their willingness to co-operate, but what then became apparent was that they were unprepared at this time to commit to Diagrama Foundation taking over the school at the conclusion of the due diligence process. This meant it would be impossible for Diagrama to ensure children's education at the school in September, notwithstanding the charity's commitment and incurring a substantial amount of time, man-power and expense, if following Diagrama's due diligence the governors decided not to proceed with Diagrama's proposal, they could walk away. It is therefore with deep regret that Diagrama has withdrawn its offer.

David McGuire said: "This is deeply upsetting for both myself and my team however this is no consolation for the impact on the parents, children and staff of the school as well as the wider community. My thoughts, along with that of my team are with all of those affected by this situation."

Statement ends.