Nearly 40 state primary schools across England have closed in the last two years because there are not enough children to attend them.
The wave of closures has left parents fighting for places at other local schools, while some children have been forced to travel longer distances.
Schools are funded by councils on a per-pupil basis, meaning that a shortfall of students due to the falling birthrate equates to less money for essential resources and staffing costs.
As a result, 38 primary schools across England have shut their doors since 2024, according to exclusive data from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER).
Another issue leading to school closures is families moving out of expensive cities to avoid surging house prices. It means some inner-city schools, often with high proportions of vulnerable children, are disproportionately affected by funding deficits and subsequent closures.
Fifteen schools in London have closed since 2024, according to the NFER data, which was compiled using the Department for Education’s (DfE) Get Information About Schools system. This includes three schools in Islington, three in Haringey, three in Wandsworth, two in Greenwich, two in Hackney, one in Southwark and one in Merton.
Four schools have shut in North Yorkshire, three in Brighton and Hove, two in Hertfordshire and two in Hampshire.
SEND children unable to find new schools
A teacher at a primary school in Islington, north London, that closed in August, said several children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) still had not found a new school placement by the end of the summer term.
Phoebe Oakley, a former teacher at Highbury Quadrant Primary School, told The i Paper that some other local schools lacked the capacity and resources to take on more children with additional needs.
“The schools were refusing to have them, or they already had such an influx of our children who did have very complicated needs that the schools were at capacity for what they could handle within their own resources.
“So lots of the children that were left at the end were our children with special educational needs (SEND) because it was just very hard to find places for them.”
Oakley added that many children went from having a five-minute walk to school through their local community to a commute of over 20 minutes to their new school placement, with some travelling to a different borough.
Islington Council promised in its consultation on the school’s future to offer all pupils “a place at another nearby good Islington School” and to “support the school, parents, and children throughout the transition”. It is understood that all children with SEND were offered a new school placement before the end of the summer term, but some of these were declined by parents.
Highbury Quadrant, which taught several Afghan refugees who were housed nearby, was told to shut due to falling pupil numbers, a budget deficit and school buildings that were “no longer fit for purpose”, according to the consultation document.
Councillor Michelline Safi-Ngongo, Islington Council’s executive member for children, young people and families, said: “Across London, schools are facing challenges – pupil numbers are falling, and budgets are being squeezed.“We’re not exempt from that here in Islington, and the reality is that Highbury
Quadrant had a significant vacancy rate.”
She said school closure is “always an absolute last resort”.
The council added that it worked with other local schools to help parents find appropriate placements and opened an “additional resource provision” at Drayton Park Primary School, which is a specialist unit within a mainstream school that provides extra support.
Further closures down the line
School leaders have warned that primary school closures are “likely to continue” unless action is taken, with projections indicating a 2 per cent fall in pupils between 2025/26 and 2027/28, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
DfE data shows that the number of primary schools was increasing from 2018 to 2021, but the growth stalled in the following two years, with the closure of eight schools.
Then, 19 primary schools closed in the year from January 2023 to 2024, followed by the closure of a further 21 schools the following year.
Oakley campaigned to save Highbury Quadrant school (Photo: Supplied)The falling birthrate has caused a drop of 150,000 pupils since 2019, according to analysis by the Education Policy Institute, which predicted a further 400,000 drop in pupils in England by the end of the decade.
The NFER said that falling pupil numbers have already led to fewer classroom teachers and teaching assistants in the local authorities that are worst affected by falling pupil numbers.
“With declines in pupil numbers set to continue to impact schools in the coming years, this is only likely to exacerbate these pressures on schools,” it stated in an article on pupil numbers and school finances.
Tom Middlehurst, deputy director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said the closure of primary schools due to declining pupil numbers is “deeply concerning”.
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“As the data shows, while this has been a particular issue in London in recent years, there have been closures in all corners of the country.”
He added: “What is most worrying is that, unless action is taken, this is a trend that is likely to continue.”
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the school leaders’ union NAHT, urged the Government to support local authorities in maintaining staffing and resources “rather than reducing funding or closing schools”. He suggested increasing capacity for SEND inclusion or offering smaller classes for more targeted help.
London Councils said a reduction in funding due to the falling birthrate and families relocating away from London has forced school leaders to make budget cuts, including in pastoral care and initiatives to narrow attainment gaps.
In some cases, schools have been merged or closed.
London Councils added that it is “important to guard against the potential loss of school buildings, which are education assets that could be needed again in the future”.
A DfE spokesperson said: “It is for local authorities to balance the supply and demand of school places, and we recognise the pressures caused by demographic changes which some schools across the country are facing.
“Our system is designed to give schools more certainty over funding levels so they can plan ahead. Funding for schools is currently at record levels, increasing to £69.5bn by 2028-29.”
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