Thousands of pupils in London have been saying goodbye to their teachers and staff as London’s plummeting birth rate has left classrooms half empty.
Dozens of primary schools across the capital are facing closure or have been forced to merge with other nearby sites as families continue to move out of the city.
A perfect storm of factors has hit London, forcing families to live elsewhere. Brexit, the Covid pandemic, the cost of living crisis and the lack of affordable housing have made it extremely difficult for families to afford to stay in London.
An analysis by the Standard has found that 34 schools in the capital were earmarked for closure or facing merger.
Plans have already been made to close schools across London at the end of this academic year, following a number of schools already closing their doors last year.
Since schools are funded based on the number of pupils they have, a drop in students can quickly push a school towards bankruptcy.
Last week, schools in Hackney held leaving parties for their remaining pupils before the sites are closed for good in the coming weeks.
St Mary’s CofE Primary School, which was first established in 1563 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, said goodbye to its final pupils at a leavers’ assembly.
Meanwhile, pupils at St Dominic’s school danced with their teachers one final time and let off balloons at a leaving do.
One teacher previously told the Standard there were only eight children in total at the school between Year 1 and Year 5, after Hackney confirmed the school would shut.
The site was left “eerily quiet” and like a “graveyard” as parents tried to secure places at other schools before St Dominic’s officially closed.
Four primaries are set to shut in Hackney this summer, with the borough having already closed four schools last year.
School closures have stretched to both sides of the Thames and to the outer edges of the city.
Last month, Southwark Council confirmed that Charlotte Sharman Primary School in Elephant and Castle and St Mary Magdalene Church of England Primary School in Peckham will both close at the end of August, meaning eight schools will have closed in the borough since 2022.
A number of private schools in the capital have also been hit by similar issues. The Village School for Girls, a private school in Belsize Park, announced earlier this year it would close this summer following a decline in pupil numbers.
Falcons School, a private school in West Putney, will also shut its doors for good at the end of the academic year, with parents being told falling pupil numbers were one of the factors that led to the decision to shut the school.
Bishop Challoner School in Bromley will also close in the coming weeks after citing a "significant decline" in pupil numbers as well as blaming Labour’s recent introduction of VAT on private school fees.
However, the decision to shut several schools in south London have been overturned.
Plans to close Fenstanton Primary School and Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School in Lambeth were rejected by the government’s schools adjudicator last week.
Further proposals to close St John the Divine Church of England Primary School and merge it with Christ Church Primary School were also rejected last month, forcing the council to apologise to hundreds of teachers and pupils following the uncertainty about whether the schools would stay open.
But the decisions have cast doubts over the future of other Lambeth schools as the borough may be forced to explore other school closures.
Elsewhere, parents, teachers and pupils marched to Newham Town Hall last week to protest against the decision to close Calverton Primary School.
Calverton, a “forest school” that often teaches children in nature settings, has a high proportion of children with special educational needs and has pupils travelling from as far away as Basildon in Essex.
A mother of three, who sent her children to Calverton Primary School, described how the school took care of her son when he was vulnerable during the Covid pandemic.
Michelle, whose son has just left Year Six, told the Standard her family were forced to isolate for months but that Calverton had been “very supportive” and set up an individual care plan for her son.
She said: “I have been a big part of the community there for 20 years. I want my son to be able to go back and see his old teachers.
“My son loved his primary school. He did really well in school. It was more than we expected.”
Michelle explained that her son had been unable to attend school during the Covid pandemic as he suffers from a bowel condition.
“It’s such a good school,” she continued. “The teachers are really caring. I don’t want them all to lose their jobs. A lot of kids go from nursery all the way up.”
Vauxhall and Camberwell Green MP Florence Eshalomi previously told the Standard that more affordable housing is needed to help families in the capital.
“Ultimately, we have to build family-sized affordable social housing so that our families can stay in London and their children can be educated locally,” the Labour MP said.
“We can not have a situation where we have our thriving capital soulless without those children in schools. We want those children to be educated locally so they can contribute back to our great city.”
Meanwhile, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson conceded that London’s plummeting birth rate has become a “challenge” and warned that other areas of the country could face a drop in pupil numbers in years to come.
In an interview with the Standard she urged for schools and trusts to think “creatively” about how old school buildings can be used.
