Headteacher has hope for school set to close

Hazlewood Community Primary School

- AUSTEN SHAKESPEARE Local Democracy Reporter

> Stephane Bommel, Headteacher of Hazlewood Community Primary School in Wideopen

A HEADTEACHER has not given up on the long-term future of his 'fantastic' school, which is set to be closed down by 2028.

Hazlewood Community Primary School, in Wideopen, is to shut its doors after North Tyneside Council opted to proceed with plans to merge it with neighbouring Greenfields Community Primary School.

It marks the end of the consultation process on the future of education in North Tyneside, which began in October last year.

The council maintains the closure of Hazlewood Primary was necessary on account of the school's structural issues, with an estimated rebuild cost of £7m, alongside falling pupil numbers in the borough - equating to 300 fewer births a year since 2018.

The much-loved school is also predicted, according to council figures, to enter a deficit of over £260,000 by 2028.

Headteacher Stephane Bommel told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he was "extremely disappointed" with the decision to close the school.