‘If school closes, I may not see my friends again’

Some primary schools in London are struggling for pupil numbers and are in danger of being closed by their local authorities.

Seven-year-old Leo’s school in Earl’s Court is one of them – leaving Leo and his cohort worried.

“If the school closes, my friends will go to different schools and we might not see each other again,” he said.

Lyla, 10, is also anxious: “It would be really sad because the school has been with me for so much years and is stuck in my heart. If I move, it won’t be the same.”

And Lyla’s mother Gemini said she was concerned about finding a school that would also accept her son, who is about to start reception.

Across the country parents are finding out where their children have been offered a primary school place, but in London there will be fewer parents waiting to hear than in previous years.

The number of pupils enrolling in primary schools in the capital is falling, with Inner London appearing to be the hardest hit.

It has a forecasted 12% drop in the number of pupil rolls, as it is known, from 2023/24 to 2028/29 – a reduction of 26,836 places needed by 2028/29.

The board of governors at St Cuthbert’s with St Matthias CE Primary School has launched a consultation about its plans to close the school, a decision that parents and children are fighting.

It is running at less than 40% of its pupil capacity, with 83 pupils – and just 11 have signed up to start reception in September.

Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council (RBKC) said it was aware of the consultation.

Catherine Faulks, lead member for family and children’s services at RBKC, said children will have alternative school places “secured as swiftly and smoothly as possible” if the primary school closes.

The falling pupil numbers have an impact on finances.

Schools in London receive between £7,000 and £9,000 per pupil funded by the National Funding Formula.

So empty school places mean schools receive less funding from the government.

Jon Andrews, head of analysis at the Education Policy Institute, said: “It costs just as much to put a teacher in front of a class of 25 pupils as it does in front of a class of 30, so schools might struggle to find the efficiencies in the way we would expect.”

In Hackney, the proposed closure of St. Dominic’s Catholic Primary School in Homerton resulted in strike action.

Carly Slingsby, teacher and member of the National Education Union, said she had been told schools are closing because of falling rolls which is affecting most of London.

“We have some financial debt as well, so our school has been chosen to go on a list,” she said.

Ms Slingsby said she wanted Hackney Council to lobby the government over the funding formula, which “clearly isn’t working for our London-based schools”.

“If they don’t change that, we are going to see loved schools all across London closing down in the same way that we are, and that is heart-breaking,” she said.

Six primary schools in Hackney are set to be affected from September, which a spokesperson for the council said was in response to “the ongoing significant fall in pupil numbers across Hackney and the majority of London boroughs”.

They said the fall had worsened the financial position of some of the schools to the point that it is no longer possible for the council to maintain them – with 23% of reception places in Hackney were unfilled in October 2024.

A final decision on proposals to close or merge Hackney borough primary schools is due to be announced on 22 April.

The reasons for the fall in numbers are multiple – falling birth rates, Brexit, gentrification and the cost of living in London are all contributing factors.

Private rents in Hackney rose to an average of £2,516 in February 2025 – an annual increase of 13.6% according to the ONS, outstripping the rise in London.

Ms Slingsby said East London “has a massive cost of living crisis, rents are high, gentrification is happening all over the place and families who come to our types of schools can’t afford to live in the area.

“When they move out they take their entire families with them and that means less funding for schools like mine.”

Some London boroughs have already seen the effects of falling rolls.

Lambeth, Southwark and Westminster have seen the biggest drops from 2018/19 to 2023/24.

Southwark has seen a 3,420 fall in primary school pupils. Lambeth has seen a reduction of 2,563 and Westminster a fall of 2,231 over the same time period.

Lambeth is planning on closing two schools and amalgamating four others. Southwark has plans to close two primary schools.

There is one London borough, however, proving to be an exception.

Havering has seen a 2,028 increase in the number of school places required from 2018/19 to 2023/4.

Havering Council said it was lobbying the government for more funding to help it meet demand.

A Department for Education spokesperson said the government was committed to “putting education back at the forefront of national life”, which included protecting core funding for schools.

The spokesperson added that a further £3.2bn would be allocated for school budgets, with £1bn earmarked for children and young people with high needs.