Saxmundham school to shut due to dwindling pupil numbers

SET Saxmundham School will close in August 2024

A school will shut at the end of the next academic year after pupils numbers "declined considerably".

SET Saxmundham School, which has pupils aged between 11 and 16, will shut in August 2024 following approval by the Department for Education (DfE).

Seckford Education Trust, which runs the school, said it is "no longer educationally or financially viable".

Suffolk Coastal MP Therese Coffey said the announcement was "not welcome news".

The trust said dwindling pupil numbers had reached a level where the school would be unable to "provide a high quality and well rounded education for pupils".

In September, 14 Year 7 pupils will take up places, meaning overall pupil numbers will fall below 200. In 2022, it had a roll of 262.

In January 2022, the school was rated inadequate by Ofsted, demonstrating the "challenges the school is facing", the trust said.

Current Year 10 pupils will still be able to complete their GCSE courses, the trust said.

Jonathan Taylor, CEO of Seckford Education Trust said: "Trustees fully understand that this news will be disappointing, and it has only been taken after very careful consideration.

"A Year 7 intake of only 14 pupils and a projected school roll falling to well under 200 makes the school unviable, educationally and financially."

Ms Coffey said: "Whilst I recognise the challenges the school has faced due to its Ofsted rating and failing pupil numbers, this is not welcome news.

She said pupils should be the "first priority" and suggested the site be used for a new special school for Suffolk which the government agreed to fund as part of the Special Needs Improvement plan.