Children 'in tears' over Brackley primary school closure

Annabel and her two brothers Kassian, 5, and Jacob, 9, go to Southfields Primary Academy in Brackley, which is set to close

Parents say their children have been left "in tears" over the decision to close a primary school.

The trustees of Southfield Primary Academy in Brackley, Northamptonshire, decided there was not enough demand for places and it was no longer viable.

West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) said it would do everything it could to find suitable places for the pupils.

Nicola Peel-Yates said her two daughters at the school were "constantly crying".

Brackley Town Council is holding an extraordinary meeting to discuss the decision, which was announced last week.

More than 1,000 people have signed a petition to stop the closure in summer next year.

Parent Nicola Peel-Yates said she was worried how other schools would cope with the new students

Ms Peel-Yates, whose two daughters are in Year 3 and Year 5, said it would affect other schools in the town.

She said: "Apparently the places just about add up, leaving no spaces in Year 1 or Year 2 in the rest of Brackley once our children have moved.

"There will be bigger class sizes and complete disruption.

"So if they have to move schools, they're going to need extra emotional support and it is going to be disruptive to everybody's learning in Brackley.

"This is not just about Southfield."

Southfield Primary Academy was no longer financially viable, the trustees said

Year 6 pupil, Annabel, 11, said: "I literally burst into tears. I've been at this school for my whole school life.

"It is absolutely amazing and the teachers are brilliant.

"I've got two younger brothers and I feel quite sad that they are going to have to move."

Father of twins, Gary Treanor, said he was devastated by the decision to close the school

Gary Treanor has twins at the school, one of whom has an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) due to his additional needs.

"We've got to try and find somewhere that will be able to accommodate his needs from a SEN [Special Education Needs] perspective," he said.

He said the school had "been absolutely amazing with him over the last three or four years".

Mr Treanor said the other twin was "upset because she thinks she'll be away from her friends".

"They're twins, they go [to school] together, it's hard to split them up," he added.

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The BBC has seen a letter from the school admissions team at West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) to parents saying it had secured additional places at both Waynflete Infant School and Brackley CE Junior School.

It said the schools will employ additional new teachers and teaching assistants and the council said creating these additional places means that there will be sufficient capacity available in Brackley to accommodate all children being displaced by the closure of Southfield Primary Academy.

Fiona Baker, cabinet member for schools, children and education at WNC, said she was "disappointed and saddened" by the decision.

She said the authority had worked with the school to make improvements and increase demand but "unfortunately these did not prove viable in the end".

The trustees said: "This has been an incredibly difficult decision and we know how unsettling this news has been for all.

"We are doing everything we can to support students, parents and staff, and will continue to do so throughout the academic year working closely with the DfE and our local authority."