Two more primary school closures have been confirmed due to a sharp decline in pupil numbers driven by a growing exodus of families from the capital.
Charlotte Sharman and St Mary Magdalene schools are now set to close on the August 31, new reports from Southwark Council have confirmed.
It comes despite the dedicated efforts of parents, teachers, community members and councillors who have campaigned tirelessly to keep them open. A change.org petition to save Charlotte Sharman primary school garnered over 800 signatures in support.
St Mary Magdalene’s proposed closure drew headlines in 2023 after the headteacher and governor hit out at the council’s poor communication, saying that the council’s handling of the situation left them in a “term of paralysis”.
Hopes were raised when a potential solution involving a nursery school looked to be a way through the current crisis, but the council has now decided to close the school.
The closure of Charlotte Sharman, in St George’s ward, comes a year after a planned merger between Charlotte Sharman — a no fixed faith school with an 80 per cent Muslim pupil roll, and St Jude’s, a Church of England school — fell through.
Lib Dem Councillors Maria Linforth-Hall and Graham Neale joined the campaign, started by parents on Change.org, and in March wrote to Southwark’s Cabinet Member for Education urging a rethink.
In their letter, they explain the severity of the impact the closure will have on local communities and families, and slammed the failed merger as an “unacceptable lack of foresight”.
In her reply, the Cabinet Member for Education acknowledged the issues raised by the Councillors, but confirmed that the council would continue to move to closing the school.
The Liberal Democrats attempted to “call-in” the decision to close the school citing concerns about the equalities impact.
The call-in would have paused the decision until the Overview and Scrutiny Committee reviewed it, but the call-in was refused, as it was viewed that the equalities impact had already been considered.
Charlotte Sharman school currently has 42 per cent of its pupils on free school meals, and 22 per cent of its pupils have special educational needs.
It is understood that a number of proposals such as reducing the school to half form entry (half a “normal” class size) or reducing and redistributing the class sizes of nearby schools had been put forward by the school and campaigners, but had been rejected.
Commenting, Cllr Graham Neale who represents St George’s ward where Charlotte Sharman is located said: “This is the direct consequence of Labour’s failure to keep the cost of living down in inner London.
“Families are being priced out, and the result is plummeting pupil numbers, leaving our local schools in increasingly difficult positions.
“I know this decision will come as a huge blow to parents and families who value this school so deeply – a feeling clearly shown by the way the community rallied together to try and save it.
“Labour’s failure is tearing the heart out of our communities.
“But whilst they look the other way, local Liberal Democrats are standing up for families, fighting to keep our neighbourhoods liveable, and our schools open.”
The borough has seen six primary schools close their doors due to a drop in demand for places since 2022.
© The Standard Ltd