Jeremy Corbyn has warned pupils at a beloved community school will have nowhere to go as London’s housing crisis has left it half empty.
Highbury Quadrant Primary School near Newington Green has been earmarked for closure and may shut at the end of the school year as pupil numbers continue to plummet.
The half empty Islington school has 161 students, but space for 360, and has lost 115 students since 2020.
Speaking outside the school independent Islington MP Jeremy Corbyn called for the council to “keep that very important sense of community”.
He said: “The numbers have fallen because of declining birth rates and housing problems and housing stress in the area but it is a very important vocal part of the community.
“The parent body is not the richest parent body in the borough by any manner of means.
“The neighbouring schools do not have the space to absorb all the children here so my concern is that we will lose the community facility and the children won’t have anywhere to go that is convenient for parents and carers to get them there.”
Council figures show that Highbury Quadrant loses £6,058 a year for every unused place at the school since funding is based on the number of pupils it has.
Parents at the school have warned there are lots of children with special educational needs at the school, who will struggle to adapt to a new environment.
Teachers and parents were left blindsided by the decision and did not know the school was at risk of closure until a recent announcement.
Alicia Perez, a childminder with two children at Highbury Quadrant, warned of the disruption to families’ lives.
She said: “Our school is closing down without notice, and it’s the only secular school in the area, and they are not considering their children’s wellbeing—so they just want us to pack up and go.
“They’re going to send us very far away, somewhere outside the catchment area you can’t walk to.”
It is the latest London school that has been earmarked for closure as birth rates in London drop and families continue to leave due to the housing crisis, the cost of living, Brexit, and the pandemic.
St Jude & St Pauls in Islington also faces closure in August 2025 meanwhile in neighbouring Hackney six more primary schools are under threat of closure or merging – despite four already shutting their doors permanently this summer.
The former Labour leader, who has been the MP for Islington for 41 years, added: “It’s a London-wide phenomenon, particularly for inner London, in fact, all but two boroughs have got falling rolls.
“It is the housing issue as much as anything else. To be an owner occupier around here is impossible for even those earning double the national income.
“Private renting has become incredibly expensive. The council is building as much as it can but council housing is in short supply.
“We need rent controls and a housing strategy in London that keeps communities together.
“If we just allow the market and private renters to let rip then central London will be removed of all its young people and children.”
One in four reception places in Islington are currently empty and the council has warned pupil numbers are expected to drop further.
London families were dealt a further blow on Wednesday as new figures show rents are spiralling at a record rate.
Earlier this year Florence Eshalomi, Labour MP for Vauxhall, said without urgent action more schools would be forced to close.
The 300-year-old Archbishop Tenison’s school in Oval, which closed last year, is in her constituency.
She said: “Schools are key landmarks that define an area. We are now in a situation where we are losing schools that have been in the city for centuries, along with all that history and rich knowledge.”
She added that a London without children, or with far fewer children, is a “real possibility”, adding: “That should send alarm bells through everyone in local, regional and national government.”
An Islington Council spokesperson said: “We are committed to putting children first and driving educational excellence through inclusive and sustainable schools. We want every child, whatever their background, to have the same opportunity and ambition to reach their educational potential in a good school.
“Across London, because of a falling birth rate and changes to the local population, pupil numbers are falling, and Islington is no exception.
“Schools with fewer pupils get less government funding which risks their long-term future and the quality of education. Our top priority is to ensure the best outcomes for our children and young people and to deliver that, we need to effectively manage issues around capacity and sufficiency to ensure our schools are sustainable for the long term.
“We have worked closely with Highbury Quadrant for some time to explore alternative solutions and the proposed closure of a school is always the last option. We are currently consulting parents, teachers and school governors about the future of the school, and we welcome their views and feedback on the proposal.
“We will consider all views put forward during the consultation period, which ends today, Wednesday 18 December and Islington Council’s Executive will decide whether to proceed with the statutory process to close the school at its meeting on 13 February 2025.”
