Supporters step up fight to save 300-year-old Yorkshire school from closure

The tiny Church of England school in Horton-in-Ribblesdale, near Settle, is set to shut its doors at the end of the summer term after North Yorkshire County Council decided to push ahead with the closure.

The school started to prepare 
a case against the decision and the joint chairman of governors revealed that an adjudication meeting will take place on May 24.

A public meeting will also take place at the end of the month to prepare for the hearing.

Co-chair of governors Nicky Rhodes, who has two children at the school, said: “It will be a sit-down meeting with an independent schools adjudicator and the local authority.

“It’s good because as a community we haven’t had the chance to voice our opinions and ask questions since last October.

“At the end of this month we will be hosting a community meeting in Horton, where we will talk to residents about what is happening with the school and where we see its future.”

The school’s headteacher will attend the community meeting, along with representatives from Craven District Council and the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust.

Mrs Rhodes added: “We have heard now officially that Craven District Council has been awarded funding as part of the Great Place Scheme, which is aimed at boosting the local economy through celebrating local culture, arts and heritage.

“So the Government is putting money into our community and at the same time removing the structure. It’s a very strange situation.” The Friends of Horton-in-
Ribblesdale School have written to Skipton MP Julian Smith 
for a second time, asking him to reconsider his support for the area.

Mrs Rhodes said: “It’s not just us now here, it’s Rathmell Primary School, which is due to close in August, and Settle School, which is our largest market town school, is now closing a classroom. We are potentially losing 120 school places and looking at class sizes of 30-plus.

“There is no feeling of safety for our children anymore and we shall continue to fight.”

A spokesman from North Yorkshire County Council said the authority was “responding promptly” to information requests made by the Office of the Schools Adjudicator.

He said: “We must now await the outcome of that referral. We understand the decision of the adjudicator will be made during the course of the summer term.

“Horton-in-Ribblesdale has only 12 children on roll, including only one child in Key Stage 1 and only two boys in the school, plus one child in nursery.

“Numbers are projected to fall further with 10 in October and eight in October 2018.”

The spokesman added: “The council’s decision was made 
because of overriding concerns about the quality and breadth of education that Horton 
could continue to provide and 
for the school’s financial viability.”

It is proposed that Austwick Primary School, which is five miles away, should be expanded to include the current Horton-in-Ribblesdale catchment area.