Primary school in Islington could be axed this year as council plans move ahead

Montem Primary School is facing closure. Image: Google

A primary school in Islington could close within months after council plans moved on to the next stage.

The future of Montem Primary School is under threat after the Town Hall’s executive last night proposed “with a heavy heart” that it be axed.

Montem is faced with less government funding as a result of falling pupil numbers, and the council plans to merge it with Duncombe Primary to secure the joint school’s “financial future”.

If approved, the amalgamation of the two Hornsey schools under Duncombe’s roof would take place on 31 August this year.

Chair of the council’s executive, Cllr Kaya Comer-Schwartz, told the meeting: “None of us got into politics to talk about moving children from one school to another and I want to be clear that this is a problem of the government’s making.”

She said the government’s approach to school funding is “one-size-fits-all, however, which doesn’t work for London”.

The drop in pupil numbers is caused by “high rents and Brexit and other issues”, she said.

Hornsey struggles with the highest pupil vacancy rate in the borough, with 32 per cent of reception places unfilled, council figures show.

The Department for Education’s (DfE) recommended vacancy rate is just five per cent, though most London councils target 10 per cent.

How much money each school gets depends on the number of pupils at the start of the academic year.

For every unused place, a school misses out on an estimated £5,500 per year.

All existing Montem pupils will have a place in the merged school, which has a 585-strong capacity, the council promised.

Cllr Michelline Safi Ngongo blamed the closure plan on the government, saying “it is not just an Islington problem”.

“Councils across London are facing the same situation,” she said.

Both Montem and Duncombe have a vacancy rate of around 50 per cent in reception, she added.

“They’re both [Ofsted-rated] ‘good’ schools but they still have a problem filling the vacancies.”

She slammed the DfE for “blocking” the council’s attempt to shut Pooles Park Primary School, rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted, saying it was “ideologically driven and not driven by what’s best for our borough and children”.

Pooles Park Primary School was ordered to become an academy, meaning the Town Hall couldn’t close it. Instead, it will be run by The Bridge London Trust as an academy.

A formal consultation is currently underway on the proposed closure of Blessed Sacrament RC Primary School in King’s Cross.

What happens next?

The formal consultation is expected to open shortly for parents, carers, staff and members of the public to make their representations.

The Town Hall will make its final decision at its meeting in April.

Cllr Comer-Schwartz said: “We all want to do our best here in Islington and the council completely understands the concerns of parents and teachers, but we have been put in an impossible situation.

“The decision taken tonight will be one with a heavy heart.

“I ask that you join us in taking the fight to the government and making farer funding for schools so that councils are no longer put in these situations.”

If you are a parent, carer or teacher affected by these plans, please get in touch with our reporter Noora Mykkanen at ldr@hackneycitizen.co.uk.