Parents are demanding answers after councillors were recommended to approve the closure of an infant and junior school with 35 children above Hebden Bridge.

Colden Junior and Infant School did not have any pupils join its reception class this year, Calderdale councillors will be told.

A report to a Cabinet meeting on Monday recommends councillors approve starting a consultation to shut what has been described as “a rural school with a real family feel” “due to continued falling rolls”.

With 12 year six pupils leaving next summer, the report warns that the school may have 23 or fewer pupils by September 2027, with the possibility of two year groups of no pupils.

The school describes itself on its website as sitting "on the hillside above Hebden Bridge, surrounded by beautiful countryside", adding: We are a small rural school with a real family feel".

placeholder image — The school describes itself on its website as sitting "on the hillside above Hebden Bridge, surrounded by beautiful countryside", adding: We are a small rural school with a real family feel".

There are currently 16 members of staff who would lose their jobs – four teachers and 12 support staff.

According to the report, falling pupil numbers “are placing increasing pressures on the school’s long-term financial sustainability as well as considerations regarding being able to offer children remaining a suitable and varied curriculum in future years.

"Pupil numbers remain significantly below the school's published admission number, with no pupils joining the school reception class in September 2026 and the likelihood of one or very few joining next September.”

The situation means recruiting and retaining staff is becoming “increasingly difficult”, the report adds. In addition, a council assessment has identified around £332,000 of “urgent condition works” needed to maintain the school building “so that it can remain safe and operational”.

The option councillors are being recommended to approve would see a consultation launched on closing the school at the end of this academic year.

"There is sufficient capacity within neighbouring schools to accommodate pupils currently attending... should closure proceed,” says the report.

The same meeting is set to discuss a new Small Schools Strategy, which is “about helping smaller schools remain strong”.

Parents are asking why Colden is being considered for closure before the strategy has been implemented. And they don’t believe the council has demonstrated that every possible alternative has been properly examined.

Meg Whittaker Gault, whose seven-year-old daughter has attended the school since the age of two, said it was “a place where children are known and cared for like no other".

She said: “Parents want answers. We want to know why closing Colden is being considered, what alternatives have been explored and how the council has arrived at its £332,000 repair figure.

“We also want to understand why admissions have stopped being advertised and why the council is considering closure before its new Small Schools Strategy has even been implemented.

“The strategy recognises the value of small schools and aims to help them remain viable.

"So why is Colden facing closure now?”