Primary schools to cut pupil numbers

Three primary schools in Warwickshire are planning to reduce pupil numbers in a bid to balance the books following declining intakes. Dassett Church of England Primary School in Fenny Compton and Newburgh Primary School in Warwick could see new cohorts halved in size from 2025. Under the proposals, Kingsbury Primary in the village of Kingsbury could cut its intake from 45 to 30 pupils a year.

Warwickshire County Council will hold a six-week consultation on the proposals, which have been requested by the schools. The consultation was signed off by Councillor Kam Kaur, portfolio holder for education, at a meeting on Wednesday. Schools work from a published admission number (PAN) reflecting the number of pupils which can be accommodated in each year group without causing problems.

The plan is to reduce the scope for annual intake at Dassett CofE from 30 to 15 from September 2025, with places at Newburgh dropping from 60 to 30. A report accompanying the decision described Dassett CofE as “a small rural school that has seen a decline in the number of applications for a number of years”. It added only two out of seven year groups had more than 15 children, meaning the school already had mixed-age groups, reducing the number of classes from seven to four “in an effort to make savings”.

Schools and their governing bodies had requested the changes, supported by the local authority’s forecasts on pupil numbers, the report said. However, it noted there was no proposed reduction in the physical capacity of the school buildings, meaning numbers could increase again if needed. The report also described “fluctuating intake numbers” at Newburgh in recent years “due to parental preference”.

It added the overall reductions would support schools long-term, “reducing the overall number of classes and teachers that will be required, allowing for better financial stability”. This report was compiled by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a partnership between the BBC and regional news organisations to cover news from local authorities and other public service organisations[1] Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, X and Instagram.

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References

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