‘Without this it’s all just tourists’: the fight to save Soho’s last primary school

One parent said Soho Parish Church of England primary school in Great Windmill Street, London, offered the last vestige of ‘normal family life’ in the area. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian

Sandwiched between a strip club, a West End theatre and a pub might not be the most obvious location for a school but Soho Parish C of E primary has thrived for decades among the colourful charms of inner London.

But in an area that once had 16 schools, Soho Parish is the last remaining and its time may soon be up, a victim of the post-Covid downturn and falling pupil numbers that are forecast to close hundreds of primary schools across England.