Harrogate: No option but to close Woodfield Primary, council says

The school has been unable to find an academy sponsor and merger talks were unsuccessful

A closure notice for a primary school in Harrogate is to be issued after all options to keep it open were "exhausted", a council has confirmed.

It comes after Woodfield Community Primary School was rated inadequate in an Ofsted inspection in January.

The school had been unable to find an academy sponsor and merger talks with another primary school had also failed.

Woodfield had fallen into financial difficulties after a drop in pupil numbers, a meeting was told.

Some parents and councillors have objected to the closure plans for the school, which could officially close on 31 December, a meeting of North Yorkshire County Council's executive heard.

'Tried our hardest'

Stuart Carlton, corporate director of children and young people's services at the council, said he understood their concerns, but he added that the authority had consulted widely and there were "no other options".

"We have tried our hardest, working with the school's governing body and other schools to find a solution, but this is not available to us any more," he said.

"I understand some parents don't want us to do this…but the sad fact is many other parents in the area have chosen to educate their children elsewhere other than this school."

There were just 26 pupils remaining at the school in May and that was expected to fall to single figures after almost all parents requested to move their children elsewhere, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It has been proposed that the current catchment area should be expanded to include Bilton Grange Primary School and Grove Road Primary School.

The meeting was told 12 pupils had already secured their first choice of school, while five had secured their second and two their third, with three cases still pending.

Councillor Monika Slater, who represents the Bilton Grange and New Park division, said she believed pupils at Woodfield should have been given greater priority for places and also urged the council to learn lessons for the future.

"Part of the issue comes down to the fact neighbouring schools have been allowed to become oversubscribed," she said.

A four-week consultation will be held over the closure plan once the notice is published on 8 September, before a final decision by the council's executive on 18 October.