School closing as young families are 'driven out' by spiraling London cost of living

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A London school is being forced to closed because there aren't enough children to fill the classrooms.

Archbishop Tenison's School in Vauxhall will close at the end of the academic year as a lack of young families meant the site faced "unsustainable financial pressure".

Local Labour MP Florence Eshalomi said she was inundated with messages from shocked residents.

The school has stood on the site in South London since 1685.

"So many people are worried about what would happen to the school," Florence Eshalomi told ITV News London.

"We cannot lose a fantastic community asset like this. I hope whatever comes after here is a community facility.

"Pupil numbers across not just in Lambeth, but across London and the UK are falling. In my constituency we are seeing cases where more and more people are moving further out because they simply cannot afford to live here.

"We see an average of a one bed flat being on the rental market for £2,200 per calendar month.

"I remember when I used to be a councillor and there was a period in the early 2000s when there were not enough school places and we had to have portacabins.

"We've got to monitor this situation.

"It's about making sure we stop any more schools closing and that needs to happen if we address the fact families are being forced to move out of London," she added.

Figures show since 2001 Lambeth has seen a 10% drop in households with at least one school-age child; in Southwark the figure is 11%.

Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Islington are also losing young families.

In Hackney there are 600 fewer reception places taken up in 2022/23 compared to 2014; meaning a 20% vacancy rate and the loss of 20 classrooms worth of children across the borough.

The council say in Hackney there was £30m less in funding for Hackney primary schools compared to if the classrooms were full.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "Next year, school funding will be at its highest level in history – per pupil, in real terms - as measured by the IFS, following the additional £2bn of investment for both 2023/24 and 2024/25 in the autumn statement. "It is for local authorities and academy trusts in London to balance the supply and demand of school places, in line with changing demographics, as they have done for many years."

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