Falling pupil numbers force school mergers as numbers fall
A London council is considering plans to merge up to 16 primary schools as pupil numbers fall throughout the country.
Primary pupil numbers in England are due to fall by more than 750,000 or 16.6 per cent over the next 10 years.
But the problem is thought to have been made worse in London because of Brexit, Covid and the soaring cost of housing driving migration out of the city.
Eight of the 10 council areas with the largest proportions of spare places are London boroughs.
Schools receive funding based on the number of pupils they have, not their capacity, so surplus places create a financial strain.
Presented with a range of options from doing nothing to closing five schools, Lambeth’s cabinet voted late last year to consult on reducing the capacity of eight schools, with up to eight amalgamations.
Ben Kind, Lambeth’s cabinet member for children and young people, told Schools Week that all councils were facing a ‘stark’ challenge.
‘Our starting point is to work with schools and the community to make sure that this happens, avoiding the need for things like school closures in the future.’
