Closure U-turn for tiny rural Yorkshire Dales school

A tiny rural primary school has been saved from closure by its community.

Clapham School, near Ingleborough in the Yorkshire Dales, which has only 28 pupils, had been threatened with closure.

However, North Yorkshire County Council has decided to overturn plans and keep the 150-year-old institution going.

Campaigners said they were "surprised and delighted" by the news, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A meeting in Northallerton heard the school would face "numerous challenges" but the community had showed a "huge appetite" for it.

Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, with Richmondshire and Craven district councils, have all said they want to keep small rural schools open despite financial and academic challenges.

The county council maintains the most small schools in the country.

Only 56% of primary pupils in the catchment currently attend Clapham Primary.

School governors initially asked the county council to consider closure when pupil numbers fell from 42 to 28 in 2014-15.

But now they believe new housing for local families means the pupil roll will rise to 40.

Iain Crossley, of Clapham Community Action Group, said calling off closure plans was "great news".

"We thought it was a done deal but we're really pleased councillors listened to us and overturned their decision," he said.

"They've given us an opportunity to develop the school. We now need to encourage parents to come back. We think the school's got a really good future."

He added that a school helps "village rejuvenation".

The community will now look for a new head teacher, and wants to rebuild confidence in the school.

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