More primary schools to merge as birth rates fall

The St Bede's site will remain open while the St Bernadette school site will close

Two Catholic schools in Lambeth, south London, are the latest schools in London to merge due to a drop in pupil numbers and falling birth rates.

From September, St Bernadette Catholic Junior School will join into St Bede's Catholic Infant and Nursery School, on the St Bede's site, to create one primary school for ages 3-11.

According to Lambeth Council, the past ten years have seen a drop of almost 30% in pupil numbers, the equivalent of 18 classes.

Westminster City Council has recently approved two separate school mergers while in Southwark, eight schools have shut since 2022.

It comes after Lambeth Council moved to close or amalgamate a number of schools in the borough to alleviate pressure on the council's budget.

Schools currently receive funding from central government on a per-pupil basis so a decline in pupils mean reduced funds.

The borough currently has 4,555 empty spaces across all primary schools.

"If we do nothing across these schools, the cumulative deficit position for them is expected to reach £17 million by March 2026," the council said as part of its consultation on changes.

St Bede's and St Bernadette Catholic Schools already work in partnership, under the umbrella name The Federation, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

All pupils at St Bernadette's will be offered a place at the new school and all permanent staff on a federation contract will move to the new site.

St Bernadette's in Lambeth will close at the end of the academic year

'Greater financial security'

Ewa Ostrynska, headteacher at St Bede's, said the majority of pupils and parents were "very excited" about the merger, and that staff already worked across both schools.

She said the merger would allow the school community to "thrive", and that it would "strengthen spiritual partnership" with the church and parish.

The headteacher added: "Of course it will ensure greater financial security for the schools and more stability for pupils, staff and the local community and potential cost savings as well."

She added that the new school would allow the transition from nursery to primary to be "seamless" and SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) children would be supported all the way from aged 3 to 11.

Ms Ostrynska added parents would benefit from bringing their children to one site rather than travelling to separate locations, and that staff would benefit from opportunities such as gaining more experience and training.

Ben Kind, cabinet member for children, young people and families, said the merger was about "acting pro-actively and responsibly" to create an all-through primary school which would "preserve Catholic education locally".