Chittlehampton Village school to close after more than 150 years

The primary school was founded in 1865

A village primary school will close this summer after more than 150 years.

Chittlehampton Church of England Primary School near South Molton has 15 pupils making it "neither educationally or financially sustainable", Devon County Council said.

The council's cabinet members signed off the closure at a meeting on Wednesday.

Nearby schools at Umberleigh and Filleigh have capacity to take children from Chittlehampton.

The school was founded in 1865, but numbers have declined steadily in recent years, from 40 five years ago.

Of the current 15 pupils, five are in Year 6 and will leave in July, while there has only been one first preference for admission to next year's new reception class.

Devon's cabinet member for children's services, Andrew Leadbetter, said: "It's obviously very sad to close any school. It's not something that anybody wants to do, but this school is proving to be unviable."

A redundancy consultation process will now begin with the seven staff, with some likely to be employed within the same network of schools.