Cabinet to decide on proposed changes to Hackney primary schools
On 22 April, Hackney Cabinet will meet to make the final decision about proposals to close or merge Hackney primary schools.
The papers that will inform the decision were published online. They recommend that the Cabinet agrees to a number of changes to affect six primary schools in the borough, which will take place starting with September 2025:
- Closure of St Dominic’s Catholic Primary School
- Closure of St Mary’s Church of England Primary School
- Closure of Oldhill Community School and the merger of its pupils with Harrington Hill Primary School, with Harrington Hill expanding to two forms of entry. This will include moving the special educational provision from Oldhill to Harrington Hill
- Closure of Sir Thomas Abney Primary School and the merger of its pupils with Holmleigh Primary School, with Holmleigh expanding to two forms of entry and moving to the site of Sir Thomas Abney. The language resource provision (LRP) from Sir Thomas Abney will remain on site, to be run by Holmleigh.
The proposals, first announced in September 2024, are in response to the ongoing significant fall in pupil numbers across Hackney and the majority of London boroughs, which has caused the financial position of some of the borough’s schools to worsen to the point that it is no longer possible for the Council to maintain them.
According to the most recent Hackney Primary Pupil Projections included in the April Cabinet papers, the number of children in Hackney mainstream primary schools has decreased between 2017 and 2024 by 2,399. The number is projected to decrease further by another 2,637 by 2035.
23% of the reception places in Hackney were unfilled in October 2024. Because schools receive money from central government based on the number of pupils they have, the decrease in pupil numbers has caused some of them to face serious pressures.
In February 2025, the Council published statutory notices of its proposals to close/merge the schools, which marked the start of a 28-day statutory representation period during which any person could object to or make comments on the proposals.
62 responses were submitted during the statutory notice period online, by email or letter. The feedback received has been analysed and reviewed, and the report included in the Cabinet papers. The majority of the responses were against the proposals, with only one supporting the proposal to Close St Dominic’s.
The Cabinet papers advise that, despite the comments received against the proposals, the Council should still proceed with the proposed changes, as the objective reasons behind the proposals have not changed, and the decreased demand for primary places across the borough is projected to continue for years to come, impacting more and more the financial viability, sustainability and quality of the Hackney education system as a whole.
If the Cabinet decides to proceed with the proposed changes, the Council will offer an extensive support offer to families and staff from the affected schools in order to help them through the transition.
More details about the next steps will be shared after the Cabinet meeting.