Wiltshire Council is going through the process of closing Shalbourne School, which is near Great Bedwyn. The number of pupils at the school has collapsed from 56 in 2015 to 5. Closure will take place in April 2024.

In reluctantly agreeing to the closure, the Governors “…expressed great sadness that the closure … had been proposed. … The school has, for generations, provided a uniquely caring, nurturing environment in which children have flourished.”

At a time of falling birthrates in rural areas small schools continue to be vulnerable, and once questions begin to emerge about a school’s viability then parental preference can kill it off.

Any village school with fewer than a hundred pupils on roll would be wise to have contingencies in place. For example something like the loss of the head teacher, or a bad Ofsted report, could start a collapse.

   Leave a comment