Plans to slash pupil numbers at Hexham's Sele First School slammed

Teachers and governors at a popular Tyne Valley school have slammed proposals to slash pupil admissions.

Northumberland County Council plans would see year groups at the Sele First School in Hexham fall from 84 children to 60, with the number of classes falling from three to two. The council say the move is in the interests of keeping other schools in the area viable - but the school's governing body have insisted the reduction is not in the Sele's best interests.

The school, which is rated as "Good" by Ofsted, is popular with Hexham families as well as others from the surrounding area. However, due to a falling birth rate in the county some other smaller schools face dwindling pupil numbers and concerns around their viability.

A joint statement from the Sele's head teacher Rebecca McVittie, chair of governors Katie O'Brien and the rest of the governing body read: "We believe that making such a significant change to our school would have a damaging impact on our school ethos, culture and identity.

"The proposal being based solely on birth rate data feels too narrow a criterion. It is not reflective of our community and its demands. Many families move to the area with the intention of joining our school and would therefore not be seen in the birth rate data.

"We respect the importance of parental preference when choosing a school for their child. Families in Hexham have a choice of excellent schools, each one unique in their own way.

"Currently 34% of families choose to come to Sele First School from outside our catchment area. Reducing our PAN [published admission number] would remove Sele First as an option for these families in the future .

"Demand for places at our school is strong. The proposals would see Sele First become worryingly over subscribed with the likelihood of numerous appeal processes, as well as very large classes.

"A smaller PAN means we will receive less money to run our school. However, reducing our capacity will not reduce our ‘running costs’ as a listed building, which means a bigger proportion of our budget will be spent on essential costs. This will make balancing an already tight budget an increasing challenge."

If approved, the changes would come into force from September 2026. There would be no changes for existing pupils.

Data from the council showed that, for the 2022/23 intake, only 65% of students lived in the local area. The remaining 35% lived in the catchment area of other schools within the Hexham partnership, other Northumberland partnerships and a small number from outside of the county.

In 2018, the council proposed closing 16 rural schools in the Tyne Valley in response to falling pupil numbers. However, the plans proved hugely controversial and were dropped following a sustained campaign by local parents.

Responding to the statement, a spokeswoman for Northumberland County Council said: "Whilst we appreciate that Sele is a popular school, the local authority has a duty to ensure a viable system for all schools in Northumberland.

“The proposed reduction in the planned admission number is part of the current consultation on the local authority's admission arrangements. The proposal to reduce the planned admission numbers supports the council's wider strategy to address the falling birth rate and ensure all schools across Northumberland are both financially and educationally viable.

"The County Council has been implementing its strategy over the last three years and has reduced the number of surplus places through the reduction in planned admission numbers in schools across Northumberland.

"All views will be considered when making recommendations to the Council’s Cabinet who are the decision makers for the admission arrangements for Local Authority Maintained schools."

Join our Northumberland WhatsApp community

Join our Northumberland WhatsApp community for all the latest news Northumberland news direct to your phone.

To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.

No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.

We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.

If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.

If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN