A primary school in Greenwich is facing closure due to falling pupil numbers.

Greenwich Council and the Archdiocese of Southwark have announced plans to close Holy Family Roman Catholic Primary School in Kidbrooke at the end of this school year.

The council said in a statement last week that despite efforts by the school to encourage more families to choose it, a decreasing number of pupils had led to a greater lack of funding each year and fewer socialising opportunities for students.

The school reportedly has room for 210 students but only currently has 128 on its register. Only 19 children were said to have started at the school last September.

A spokesperson for The Archdiocese of Southwark, which manages the school, said in a statement that a significant reduction in pupil numbers had been exacerbated by a drop in the number of baptisms in recent years.

They said the situation was also more pronounced in London boroughs, as only six families had nominated the school as their first choice for September 2024.

They added: “Over the past decade, the Archdiocese has devoted considerable resources to support the school and address the issues around finance and pupil numbers. It is with regret that all of these efforts have not resulted in a positive outcome.

"The school continues to have a decreasing population and the deficit will only rise, over the coming years.

"This leaves us with no option but to explore, through the consultation, the closure of the school.”

Greenwich Council said the school was estimated to lose £118,000 by the end of this year, which would rise to £362,000 at the end of the following year.

The authority also cited the school’s Ofsted rating as a reason for the decreasing number of pupils applying to the school.

The school was rated as ‘requires improvement’ at its most recent inspection in June 2022, with pupils being cited in the report as not achieving as well as they should.

However, the school was praised for staff having ‘warm and nurturing’ professional relationships with pupils.

The authority claimed that it has supported the school since its most recent inspection, providing an additional senior leader and school improvement advisors to work with subject leaders and teachers.

Pupils currently attending the school will be transferred to other schools in September once a formal decision has been made in May this year.

Labour Councillor Matt Morrow, cabinet member for children’s services for Greenwich Council, said in a statement: “It’s our Greenwich mission to make sure every child reaches their full potential, and that starts in the classroom.

"The vast majority of our primary schools are rated as good by Ofsted and I know our teams will now work hard to make sure everyone impacted by the potential closure gets the support and guidance that they need. It only takes 10 minutes to let us know how this proposal will impact you. You can leave your views via our website.”

Greenwich Council is running a consultation on the closure until February 9.

Consultation events on the proposed closure are due to take place over the next two weeks.

Staff will be consulted on the plans on January 29 at an event at the school while parents will have an event in the school on January 31 and online on February 1.

The final decision on the school’s closure will be made at a Greenwich Council cabinet meeting scheduled for May this year after the consultation periods have concluded.

Holy Family Roman Catholic Primary School was approached for comment, but did not respond at the time of publication.