Cockermouth school with one pupil to close permanently

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School in Cockermouth will close in August

A school with just one pupil will permanently close, a council has said.

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School in Cockermouth has faced budget issues and been unable to recruit a head teacher because of a lack of pupils.

Cumbria County Council's cabinet agreed to close it in August after a year-long consultation saying there were sufficient places at other schools.

Cabinet Member for Schools and Learning Sue Sanderson said the the school was "unsustainable".

Ms Sanderson said a number of options were looked at including merging the schools with others, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

"There are, very importantly, sufficient places in the area to accommodate expected future demand," Ms Sanderson said.

She said St Joseph's was struggling to improve on a Requires Improvement rating from Ofsted and "the number of children generates your school budget".

Council leader Stewart Young said it was "not a decision we take lightly" but the circumstances supported closure.

Mr Sanderson said 24 responses were made to a public consultation on the potential closure in January 2021.

Six were in favour of closing the school and the governing body said that there was "no alternative".