The Isle of Wight Council is considering closing St Mary’s Primary School in Ryde, Cowes Primary School and Wroxall Primary School – as well as Chillerton and Rookley Primary School through its amalgamation – in a bid to cut surplus school places across the Island.
Shock proposals have been revealed today (Friday) – the last day of term – to consult on closing 4 primary schools amid a significant fall in reception pupils and challenges around teacher recruitment and retention. The council predicts the number of primary school children will fall from 9,200 in 2017 to around 8,000 by 2025.
Warnings have been issued by school leaders that keeping too many schools open risks condemning pupils to a mediocre education. Therefore, the local authority must now look to address a surplus of more than 200 primary school places.
No closures are proposed to complete before September 2024 at the earliest, save for Chillerton & Rookley which may close from 1st January 2024 as a result of an amalgamation with Godshill – where students have been taught in recent months anyway.
It’s said that the proposed changes are in no way a reflection on the work of the schools’ current staff and leadership, or on the quality of teaching.
Councillor Debbie Andre, Cabinet member for education, has said:
“We need to ensure all our schools are fully supported to provide excellent education for our children, with the very best resources and facilities.
“We know schools have very close ties to their local communities, that’s why closing schools is one of the most difficult decisions we can make, and not one we would ever choose to do unless we had no other choice.
Article continues below this advertisement “We have listened to headteachers and school governors and are willing to make these difficult decisions, if the consultations support this action, along with the views of parents and pupils.
“I would stress that no decision has been made to close any school at this time, only a recommendation to consult on potential closures. But the quality of education for our children, and strength of the whole school system on the Island, must take priority for the sake of the futures of our young people.”
A report — School Place Planning — will go before the council’s Cabinet for consideration at 17:00 on Thursday 8th June. Should the Cabinet approve the proposals to consult, schools and council staff will be holding a series of meetings to talk to parents/carers directly about the plans.
However, no closures will take place before September 2024 and before in-depth discussions are held, as well as formal, statutory consultations with parents/carers, staff and leaders, governors of the affected schools and the wider community. This is expected to start in the Autumn and last a minimum of 6 weeks.
Should future demand for reception places suddenly increase, there is existing physical capacity within schools to absorb additional children, and additional places could always be added if needed.
Facts and Figures
- 39: the number of primary schools on the Island.
- 1,379 – the overall number of reception places on the Island, the equivalent of 46 classes
- 213 – number of vacant reception places in 2022-23, the equivalent of 7 classes
- 15% – this year’s intake vacancy rate which is more than 5% over the suggested vacancy rate
- £4,023.24 – the amount each primary school receives for each pupil on roll and therefore the amount they do not receive for every vacancy
- £856,951 – additional funding schools would receive if there were no vacant reception places this year
Probably best to close them all down because they are so bad. Some of the worst schools in the whole of the UK. Probably as much to do with the low intelligence locals as well as bad teaching.
You sound like a very unhappy mainlander, if you don’t like us go back.
By golly, island echo would not approve of what I want to say but to the very least you are fickle, schooling on the island is quite good actually whether the students take to it is another matter and I’d imagine that’s where you were collecting your supposed “observation” you so duly noted… and judging by “lord muck” you are probably one of the illiterate ones that are suppressing intelligence, allowing idiocy to metabolize into our society because you cant see the good, because your hellbent on seeing what suits you… what you didn’t point out what their oximoronic statement saying “Warnings have been issued by school leaders that keeping too many schools open risks condemning pupils to a mediocre education” 1/2
And yet saying “It’s said that the proposed changes are in no way a reflection on the work of the schools’ current staff and leadership, or on the quality of teaching.” So which is it? I tell you it has nothing to do with students or staff but this is a clearly something to do with money. And what’s more scary is why there not saying that, parting it off as “reshuffling”. Teachers are already up to the eye ball in paperwork etc so that’s what we should be addressing not some money saving redundancies. 2/2
Hoistered by my own petard with the illiterate statement: I didn’t quite get mine quite right
Yeah go back and spread your muck elsewhere. Holibobs are back and even ruder and arrogant this year, bring it on.
Just goes to show how little you know then!!! Making idiotic comments regarding ” bad teaching” you know jack sh#t!!! Idiot
And there it is – the stupidest thing I’ll read today.
What an unbelievable ignorant pratt you are.
You have summed up the Island perfectly Lord Muck and
Caulkheads do not like to hear the truth.
Lack of Brains is the problem on the Island.
Brains and island are not proper nouns. It should read “Lack of brains is the problem on the island”. Ironic,isn’t it.
Standards *at St Mary’s Primary School* in recent years have been higher than national average. (See 2018 results in reading, writing and maths)
2019, 2020 and 2021 saw the cancellation of National testing due to Covid.
Hahaha I’m a caulkhead and you sir are just so wrong but then again if you were one then you would know lol typical overner thinking they have a horse in the race when it comes to knowing or being a caulkhead lol
Hit nail on the head there – combination of two factors.
‘Twas nice you added full stops to your stream of consciousness rant, sir. However, lack of other punctuation ( and just making a list; plus the lack of further grammatical clarification) suggests to this Caulkhead that you can’t tell sh#t from clay, sir
Your a total dip stick like the other snobs with no brains on this site .Think it’s a shame to close another school the roads a full every morning now with people taking there kids to school it will only be worse now
LM, please do your research before making irresponsible and misleading comments.
Standards *at St Mary’s Primary School* in recent years have been higher than national average. (See 2018 results in reading, writing and maths)
2019, 2020 and 2021 saw the cancellation of National testing due to Covid.
Has forward planning been taking into consideration? How many children are likely to require schooling come 2024, and subsequent years. There could be a baby boom in 2024 so the minimum forward plan should take into account all areas up to 2028. Sometimes the current Councils on the Island are too quick to sell off properties for Islanders general use, at a cheap price only to discover a need for the services at a later stage. Robbing Peter to pay Paul never achieved anything in the end, only ended up costing more money to the tax payer. As I recall Chillerton and Rookley had a reprieve from closure recently so presume there must be a need. This really is a cost cutting exercise, not an improvement in my mind.
Obviously, this is all about forward planning. There is not going to be a baby boom. The current trajectory for population growth on the island is steeply downhill. The demand for school places will keep going down unless there is substantial migration of young families to the island. Evidently, amalgamating schools will save money by stopping us funding wasted spaces. This will stop the council wasting our council tax. No brainer really.
Where are all the new kids going to go from the massive housing estates being built in Ryde , they can’t all be absorbed into other schools , the classes are big enough .
Those new housing estates in Ryde are for retiring overners not families!
All about finance and nothing to do with teaching. Children do better in a smaller class of 24 than a larger one of 31. What a contradiction.
If birth rates increase, schooling will be of even poorer quality due to even larger class numbers and burnout teachers.
not to mention the increasing number of children, nationally with additional needs.
A class size of 31 makes economic sense given limited resources. So yes it is about money because there has to be some economic responsibility. Birth rates will not increase, especially now we are getting poorer every day.
Sophie has it right.
The sick and dying council have seriously lost the plot now, still those in charge never want educated masses as they will demand rights, something the tories and the council don’t want. Keep ’em thick. This council really are the lowest of the low. Next thing they will anounce a huge load of money to keep the floating bridge going, or put into LBGTQ++ XHJW123 rights or some other ridiculously “modern” trend.
There have been schools on the island for many years and academic standards never get any better. Always low compared with the rest of the country. Make of that what you will.
Standards *at St Mary’s Primary School* in recent years have been higher than national average. (See 2018 results in reading, writing and maths)
2019, 2020 and 2021 saw the cancellation of National testing due to Covid.
Well done Isle of Wight Council. Ms Perera and her muppets won’t be happy until there are absolutely no services left in the island. It’s time for a massive change. For the value I get from this council, I may as well flush my £200+ down the toilet every month.
Wroxall just had £1 million in improvements done, only finished last summer. Now they want to shut it. Great finacial foresight there.
Might as well flush a £1 million down the toilet as spend money on Wroxall. What a hole.
Actually Wroxall is set in an area of aonb and i love it here. Where do you live Ryde!!!!!!
Well I never, you clearly are muck! I’ll have you know wroxall is a handsome old village. People like you don’t deserve to walk our island streets, get back to the hole you came from. My blood boils…Steve
Yet we are told that we need thousands of homes on the island to cope with ‘local’ demand – one assumes these local people won’t have children then ? Or could it be that actually the houses are for all the people displaced from the mainland by mass uncontrolled immigration ?
Received this today from The Isle of Wight Executive Headteacher Group:
‘The numbers of primary pupils on the Island are forecast to decrease from c.9,200 in 2017 to
c.8,000 by 2025.’
That’s a huge decrease in birthrate across the Island in only 8 years.
As the Isle of Wight Council are part of the group looking into the number of Primary School places required, how on earth do the Council justify the building of thousands of new homes, supposedly for Island families?
There’s a massive DECREASE in birthrate, and the Council know this, and yet they tell us we need more homes for Island people. This literally doesn’t make sense, unless, of course, as many of us have guessed, these homes aren’t for Island people at all.
Of course that is the case. The UK population can only be maintained or increased by immigration. Hardly news is it?
Nobody with children approaching secondary stage would, in their right mind, move to the island.
As I stated in reply to Gove being here, if don’t do something about cost of ferries then more will move off Island, families already can’t afford a home, council tax and cost of living and low wages etc . The Island will become a forgotten dump in next 10/20years and Council allowing it to happen with no interest in people it should be serving. I’ve been here 30rs and think I will be off soon as Council Tax double of simular on mainland on mainland better services and much lower cost of living and my job would pay 30/40% more until I retire. Unfortunately my home would also be sold well above what average Islanders could afford, so probably go to a rich retire.
More likely to have a similar climate to the South of France in 10/20 years with climate change. Develop Sandown seafront and it will be the best place to live in the UK. The locals will make plenty from a better class of visitor.
Wouldn’t it be prudent to moth ball two of them incase of future demand or rent them out to other local government departments/ NHS as offices so you have capacity later.
If you are planning on selling on then only sell the ones that are not viable like ones that are in a poor state of repair and will be costing to maintain its up keep.
I went to school at Nodehill which i knows not a primary but must cost a fortune to run.
It is all about money nothing else. Because the council have built quite a few new much bigger primary schools in the last 5-10 years which replaced fairly small schools, they have been sat there with lots of vacant places. So the older schools nearby have been on borrowed time really. It’s a shame because St Mary’s as a faith school was always very popular. But it’s buildings are old and the council want to fill the new schools.
Might as well send all island children to one central school because they all get driven to school these days. Not like in my day when I walked 3 miles to school. There is no good reason for a local school nearby any more.
A single central school would save a fortune. Most people work in the middle of the island anyway so easy to drop them off and pick them up.
No-one to blame but tory voters. The NHS is almost decimated, education is fair game for more massive cuts. They are still just warming up after a decade of syphoning money upwards at the publics expense.
Thousands of pounds have been spent on Wroxall primary school to enlarge it in the last few years.Who on earth are the morons running the island’s education?
Obviously locally educated morons. Brains of a rocking horse.
Typical council have new block built at Wroxall primary cost hundreds of thousands then close it? Great waste of our money????
No school should be shut !!! The councils / local goverment should be made to stop putting money into saving useless buildings,for example st thomas’s church ryde , & put the money into schools.
Save St Marys Catholic Primary School. Sign the petition. https://www.change.org/p/save-st-mary-s-catholic-primary-school-ryde-isle-of-wight
The Island of the elderly & second homes!