A rural village primary school in North Yorkshire could close due to dwindling pupil numbers.
For the last 15 years, St Hilda’s Church of England Primary School in Ampleforth, has had no more than 36 pupils. It currently only has 13 children on roll. It has seen a consistently low intake of new pupils in recent years and it is highly likely to have no reception age pupils at the beginning of the next academic year (September).
The school’s governing board recently approached us to request a consultation on a proposal to close the school, which has experienced growing pressure on its finances and challenges with future sources of leadership.
The request was considered today (20 February) and the executive member for education, learning and skills, Cllr Annabel Wilkinson, has decided to proceed with the consultation.
Cllr Wilkinson said: “A decision to consult on potentially closing a school is always an extremely hard one to have to make. North Yorkshire maintains more small, rural schools than any other local authority in the country. Sadly, the reality is that many of our schools, particularly those in rural areas, are seeing pupil numbers reduce year-on-year. Projected pupil numbers indicate that St Hilda’s Church of England Primary School in Ampleforth faces a challenging financial position.
“As numbers fall, it is increasingly difficult to provide the remaining pupils with access to a full range of experiences and the quality of education they require.”
The consultation to close the school will begin on March 1 and run for six weeks and will include a public meeting. Our executive is then due to consider the consultation feedback in May.
If the proposed closure is approved at the end of the required process, then St Hilda’s Church of England Primary School would shut on 31 August.