North Yorkshire: Closure consultation for Ampleforth primary school

A consultation is to be held on closing a village primary school which only has 13 pupils.

North Yorkshire Council said St Hilda's Church of England Primary School, in Ampleforth, would likely have no pupils of reception age starting in September.

The authority said the school, on the edge of the North York Moors National Park, had not had more than 36 pupils at any point in the last 15 years.

A consultation on closure will begin on 1 March and will run for six weeks.

The school's governing board approached the council to request a consultation on a proposal to close the school in light of pressure on its finances and future sources of leadership.

Annabel Wilkinson, the council's executive member for education, learning and skills, said the decision was an "extremely hard one" to take.

"No-one wants to be in this position," she said.

Ms Wilkinson added that North Yorkshire maintained small schools "more than any other local authority in the country".

"Sadly, the reality is that many of our schools, particularly those in rural areas, are seeing pupil numbers reduce year-on-year.

"As numbers fall, it is increasingly difficult to provide the remaining pupils with access to a full range of experiences and the quality of education they require," she continued.

She said delaying a decision was "not an option".

The consultation would include a public meeting and the council's executive would consider the feedback in May, Ms Wilkinson said.

If approved then St Hilda's would shut on 31 August.

Last month, plans to close another North Yorkshire primary school were approved due to "dwindling pupil numbers".

Students at Fountains Earth Church of England Primary School in Lofthouse would be transferred to other schools by September, the council said.

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