The Isle of Wight’s bitter row over primary school closures could be reignited today (Thursday), with councillors set to consider restarting work that could ultimately lead to more schools facing the axe.
Just over a year after controversial proposals to close 6 primary schools sparked protests, petitions, legal challenges and widespread public backlash, members of the newly-formed Children’s Services, Education and Skills Committee are being asked to authorise a fresh review of school places across the Island.
Councillors will be asked to agree that reducing surplus primary school places remains a ‘critical and urgent’ priority and to instruct officers to examine options for tackling the issue – including, if necessary, school closures.
The move follows the collapse of the Isle of Wight Council’s previous closure programme, which culminated in the Office of the Schools Adjudicator overturning plans to close Arreton St George’s CE Primary School after finding flaws in the council’s decision-making process.
Unlike the previous process, officers are now seeking permission to develop a formal framework for deciding how any future schools would be identified.
A report before today’s meeting recommends delegating authority to Ashley Whittaker, Strategic Director of Children’s Services, to develop the criteria that would be used should school closures become the preferred option.
The report states:
“The proposed development of an agreed criteria framework is a critical step in ensuring that any future decisions relating to school place sufficiency are robust, transparent and evidence based.
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“Given the complexity and sensitivity of decisions such as reducing surplus capacity, including potential school closures, it is essential that the committee has a clearly defined and consistently applied set of criteria to guide decision making.”
The council says it is continuing to implement its education strategy, with aligning the number of school places to the falling number of children described as a ‘vital element’ of improving educational outcomes.
According to the report, the number of children entering mainstream primary schools has been declining for several years. In Autumn 2025 there were 1,349 pupils in Year 6 compared to just 1,033 in Reception – highlighting the continuing reduction in pupil numbers.
Although some families value smaller schools and class sizes, the council says the financial and operational pressures created by surplus places continue to affect schools across the Isle of Wight.
The report also references discussions held with headteachers and senior education leaders in November last year, where there was said to be a consensus that the number of school places should better reflect current and future pupil numbers.
County Hall argues that maintaining too many surplus places results in funding and resources being spread too thinly, making it harder for schools to improve educational outcomes.
The issue became one of the Isle of Wight’s biggest political stories in late 2024 when the council announced plans to close Arreton, Brading, Cowes, Godshill, Oakfield and Wroxall primary schools in response to falling birth rates and thousands of surplus places.
Following months of campaigning, Cabinet voted in March this year to close only Arreton and Cowes Primary Schools, while Brading, Oakfield and Wroxall were reprieved. Godshill had already been removed from the programme.
However, the planned closure of Arreton was later overturned by the Office of the Schools Adjudicator, which ruled that the council’s process for identifying schools was flawed and lacked a clear and transparent methodology.
Today’s meeting will be the first time the issue has returned to councillors since May’s local elections, with the committee now featuring 4 Reform UK members alongside a new independent councillor.
Before the elections, Reform UK councillor Bill Nigh said a council controlled by his party would oppose school closures.
No schools are being considered for closure at today’s meeting, but councillors are being asked to begin the work that could underpin any future proposals.
Option 2 move more families to the island and their children
can fill the places available.
The island could do with more culture, something it has lacked for
years.
Debating school closures is the wrong debate. The only way to make IoW long-term viable is to make it an attractive proposition for young people & young families. We don‘t seem to realise that we’re in a competitive marketplace for them. What we should be debating is how to achieve that. Everything else is sticking plasters & avoiding some really difficult decisions.
Option 3 – encourage more parents to send their children to school rather than home-schooling them.
THIS is why some of us were very wary of cheering when the last attempt stopped. It was paused for procedural reasons, no one managed to get it cancelled or thrown out, only paused. Can we now get a cohesive plan to fight this, or should we assume that councillors will just veto closures and trust in the procedures?