Schools facing closure as pupil numbers crash

COUNCIL'S PLANS TO MERGE SIX PRIMARIES REVEALED

- By AUSTEN SHAKESPEARE

A MIDDLE school could be closed and six primary schools merged under radical plans due to falling pupil numbers.

Education in North Tyneside is facing its biggest shakeup in decades, and which could affect around 1,500 students.

North Tyneside Council has launched a consultation on proposals to shut Monkseaton Middle School, where pupil numbers have fallen from 333 in 2016/17 to just 205 in 2025/26.

There are also plans to merge six primary schools into three due to significant vacancies in classrooms. This would see the integration of Langley First School and Apple Tree Gardens First School, Forest Hall Primary School and Ivy Road Primary, and Greenfields Community Primary School and Hazlewood Primary School.

In all, the council is proposing the closure of three school buildings, with one being repurposed. Job losses are expected, though exact numbers are not known.

The council said that a falling birth rate, equivalent to 300 fewer every year since 2018/19, is among the reasons why classrooms are left unfilled. Greenfields Community Primary School has the largest number of vacancies, operating at 39% capacity with 206 pupils on a site, despite a capacity for up to 525.

Monkseaton Middle School