Cambridgeshire school with 47 pupils considered for closure

The number of pupils at Great Gidding Primary School has fallen from 75 to 47 in the last 10 years

The local education authority is considering closing one of Cambridgeshire's smallest schools which has 47 pupils.

The roll at Great Gidding Church of England Primary School, near Sawtry, was expected to fall to 40 by 2024.

The county council will discuss the its future at a meeting on 17 January.

"The council has concerns as to the future viability of this small, maintained primary school," a council report said.

The school's catchment area includes the villages of Great Gidding, Little Gidding and Steeple Gidding, as well as Winwick and Hamerton and the report said pupil numbers had dropped from 75 in the last 10 years.

The council's children and young people committee will be asked to agree to a consultation process on the closure and the "redeployment of pupils to other suitable schools".

Councillors will discuss the future of the school on 17 January

Funding for Church of England maintained schools is predominantly determined by school size, the authority added, and "it is shortly going to become too difficult to continue sustaining the school's good educational standards, given the funding that will be available".

A report published ahead of the meeting recommended a 30-day consultation period on the potential closure.

It also said that the small size of the school meant there were limitations to what could be offered for pupils there.

'Challenging conditions'

Committee chairwoman Bryony Goodliffe said the school was "not currently viable in the coming years".

"Educational provision and outcomes for children must always be our foremost priority," she said.

"It is important that we seek the views of the wider community before coming to any final decision."

The report said a new primary school due to open in Sawtry in September 2024 could cause a further decrease in the number of out-of-catchment children applying to Great Gidding.

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It added that all options for the school had been considered, and that the recommendation to close the school had "not been taken lightly".

Andrew Read, director of education for the Church of England's Ely Diocese, said: "It is always difficult to contemplate the uncertain future of schools which have been, and remain, centres of their rural communities.

"However, in the uncompromising face of challenging funding conditions, we must be pragmatic and put children's educational needs first."