School to close as number of pupils falls to just 15

NORTH Yorkshire County Council has decided to close Rathmell Church of England Primary School near Settle at the end of the school year.

The council said it had taken the difficult decision following a governor-led consultation on closure owing to falling pupil numbers.

There will be just 15 children on the roll in September, leaving only four children in class one with numbers in future years continuing to decline.

Governors consulted on closure in the interests of current and future pupils because they believe falling numbers and the resulting reduction in the school budget would make it extremely difficult for the school to continue to provide a high quality of education for pupils.

The county council will extend the catchment area of Long Preston Endowed C of E Primary School from September 1 to serve the area currently served by Rathmell.

Coun Patrick Mulligan, North Yorkshire’s executive member for schools, said: “This has been a very difficult decision for the council.

“We do not take the decision lightly to close a school and we do our best to support our small schools.”

Rathmell’s chair of governors Hilary Young said: “It is with great sadness that governors have taken this course of action.”

Earlier this month, the governing body of Ings Community Primary and Nursery School in Skipton asked North Yorkshire County Council to consult on the future of the school, which they believe is no longer sustainable.

If a consultation goes ahead it will consider closure of the school by December, but it will also consider options for maintaining education provision on the site.

The school, which has capacity for 84 children, has only 42 on roll and five children in nursery. It is forecasting cumulative year-end deficits of £117,000 in 2018-19 and £249,000 in 2019-20.