Primary school numbers slump

PUPILS DOWN BY 8.6% - AMONG THE BIGGEST FALLS IN THE COUNTRY

- By STUART ARNOLD Reporter

REDCAR and Cleveland is in the top ten local authority areas experiencing the biggest fall in primary school pupils in the past five years, analysis has shown.

Findings from research compiled by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) placed it tenth in this respect with only parts of London ahead of it.

Schools are funded on a per pupil basis, so a drop in roll call numbers can threaten their viability and even lead to closure, more so with smaller establishments.

Between 2020/21 and 2024/25 primary school pupil numbers in Redcar and Cleveland dropped by 8.6%, although the number of primary schools themselves (44) remained static.

The biggest fall was in Westminster, Central London, with a 15.9% decline. The analysis did not pinpoint why Redcar and Cleveland found itself in the top ten, largely concentrating on the sustained decline in London primary school enrolments.