Northamptonshire village school with only 30 pupils could face closure

A Northamptonshire village's only school could be closed down due to a shortage of pupils.
Great Creaton Primary School could be closed over a shortage of pupils.Great Creaton Primary School could be closed over a shortage of pupils.
Great Creaton Primary School could be closed over a shortage of pupils.

The future of Great Creaton Primary School, which has only 30 pupils, is uncertain after an email sent home to parents yesterday (March 12) announced the school could face closure.

It comes as the county council forecasts the school will have only one Year 6 pupil in 2019, and could bunch all its children - no matter their age - into a single class by next year.

If the county council agrees at a cabinet meeting tonight, the public will be asked whether they think the school should close or not.

An email to parents from the council's capital programme manager Chris Wickens reads: "The proposal to begin consultation on this matter has been by NCC, in liaison with the school, due to concerns over the small number of pupils attending the school and its impact on the school’s long-term viability.

"Full consideration has also been given to the challenges such low pupil numbers represent to the school in terms of effective curriculum delivery and the impact this may have on the pupil outcomes realised by those children attending Great Creaton Primary School."

The cabinet still has the option to vote against launching the consultation, in which case the school will not close.

The school, which teaches children aged between 4 and 11, operates with two mixed-aged classes for its total of 30 pupils, and has been undersubscribed for years. Only seven of the school's children are currently from Creaton.

Nearly half of Creaton Primary's pupils have special educational needs and disabilities,

It was criticised in an Ofsted inspection - published in February - for having a "generous" evaluation of itself and was rated as "requires improvement" in its last two visits.