A home school is closing its doors after the downturn in the economy led to a nearly 50 percent reduction of students.Principal Shawnette Somner says she will be “an emotional wreck” when she pulls the plug on Star Academy after seven years.The dedicated teacher has depleted all her savings trying to keep the struggling school afloat over the last couple of years.But Ms Somner has reluctantly admitted defeat and will say goodbye to her remaining students at Christ Church, Warwick, on December 16.Star Academy’s average of 15 students has tumbled to just eight students as parents could no longer afford the school fees.Ms Somner said it was “more than difficult” to come to terms with the recession taking its toll on her “childhood dream”.She said: “I noticed at the end of the 2008/2009 school year that parents were starting to express possible challenges with payment of fees.“Then by the end of the 2009/2010 school year, the recession was really hitting a lot of parents.“Student numbers fell but I reopened in September 2011 really believing I could make it work. A part of me was saying ‘I can’t close, I don’t want to close’.“I realised in October that there was no way I could remain open until June”.Parents have been gradually moving their children from Star Academy to the public school system to save money. Ms Somner said: “They felt forced to, they didn’t want to” as they couldn’t meet the $750-$800 monthly home school fees.But the drop in student numbers left Ms Somner struggling to pay $3,000 a month for health insurance and rent.She added that for many years Bermuda’s home school teachers had unsuccessfully sought permission to amalgamate to get a group rate for health insurance.Ms Somner said: “We’ve always had approximately 15 students every year, now we have just eight.“I really wanted to save the school but I couldn’t do it, it was a financial burden“It’s really sad … it’s a big disappointment for me, the parents and the children. Everyone is upset, but they understand”.Ms Somner grew up always wanting to be a teacher and entered the profession as soon as she graduated from university in 1984.She worked in Bermuda’s public schools for 20 years at the primary, middle and high school levels.She also worked as a mentor to new teachers and as principal at Port Royal Primary School in Southampton.However, it had always been Ms Somner’s dream to open up her own school and it became a reality when she set up Star Academy in September 2004.She single-handedly ran the home school at Mount Zion AME Church in Whale Bay, Southampton for two years, before moving to the current site in Warwick.The school, which has welcomed students aged five to 18, prides itself on its friendly environment where children are given one-on-one attention.A Christian-based curriculum is taught with students working at different levels in different subjects.Tre Jones, 18, is one of Star Academy’s remaining students, who will sit his GED next month then go on to Bermuda College.His father Ronald Davenport said he took his son out of Sandys Secondary Middle School about four years ago because he was falling behind in class.He said: “Tre has progressed tremendously at Star Academy.“Shawnette’s a great teacher and works very well with the children. She’s very hands-on and is constantly communicating with parents”.Out of the remaining six boys and two girls at Star Academy; two are going to public school, four are going to another home school and two remain undecided.Ms Somner, who also teaches part-time at Westgate, now has the difficult task of deciding what she will do next.“I don’t know what I’m going to do … I just want to teach,” she said.