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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Richard Adams Education editor

Low birthrates in England could lead to ‘closure of 800 primary schools by 2029’

Schoolboy and girls doing schoolwork at classroom desks
London has been the hardest hit with declining pupil numbers. Islington, Lambeth and Southwark are expected to have the steepest reduction over the next five years. Photograph: Sydney Bourne/Getty/Image Source

Declining numbers of children across England could lead to the equivalent of 800 primary schools falling empty or being closed by the end of the decade, according to research by a thinktank.

The national decline in pupils at state primary schools is mainly driven by low birthrates but is magnified in London by increasing numbers of people moving out of the capital or leaving the state system to move abroad or send their children to private schools, according to the Education Policy Institute.

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