Kirkby Fleetham CoFE Primary School: Yorkshire village school with just 18 pupils set to be closed down

Parents and staff have been informed of a proposal to shut Kirkby Fleetham Church of England Primary School, near Bedale, at the end of the summer term due to a lack of pupils.

The decision has been taken by the Dales Academies Trust, a Church of England multi-academy trust, which runs the school along with 15 other schools mainly in North Yorkshire.

Damian Chubb, chief executive of the trust, said : “The proposal to close the school follows a thorough review process to identify the impact of current and anticipated low enrolment on the children’s development and social wellbeing, as well as the long-term financial sustainability of the school.

“As a trust, it is our duty to uphold an exceptional provision for learning and wellbeing, which we believe simply cannot be achieved under the circumstances.”

He added: “This decision has not been taken lightly, and we would of course work closely with the families affected by the change to ensure their children are well-placed in a new school should the ultimate decision be made to close the school.”

Mr Chubb said the Secretary of State had been informed of the plan and given an “in-principle agreement” to the closure, with the trust now waiting for further details from the Department for Education about the process.

It is understood local governors of the school were unaware of the closure until being notified last week.

A meeting for parents with trust leaders and a representative from the Diocese of Leeds will take place at the school at 6.30pm on Monday, with the school governors also planning an extraordinary meeting to discuss the announcement.

According to official figures, the school has a roll of 18 pupils.

A source close to the school said a number of parents were very unhappy about the planned closure.

They added: “There are those who are reeling from the news and are questioning how on earth they can propose to close the school without any consultation.”

Fran Hilyer is a former chair of the Friends of Kirkby Fleetham School and a local resident.

She said the closure would be a “terrible shame for the village and the local community”.

She added: “It would mean we lose that local access to education and the children having to travel to school.”

Details of the planned closure come as education bosses at North Yorkshire Council take further steps to close Hackforth and Hornby Church of England Primary School due to a decline in numbers, as well as shutting the sixth form at The Wensleydale School.

There have been no post-16 students in Years 12 and 13 at the Leyburn secondary school for two years.

The outcome of consultation for both schools was discussed at a meeting of North Yorkshire Council’s executive this week.

The councillors agreed that statutory closure notices for both schools could be published in March after a further consultation period which runs until the end of February.