Protect our Primary Schools

• Two primary schools in Hengrove and Whitchurch Park could be closed in 2027, a Council consultation has revealed.
• Local Councillor Tim Kent has raised the alarm on these potential closures, challenging the Council’s assumptions that pupil numbers will drop despite new homes being built in the area.
• Hengrove and Whitchurch Park’s Lib Dem Councillors will campaign to save our local schools, ensuring that our area has capacity for future families. 

A draft council strategy has revealed that two primary schools in Hengrove and Whitchurch Park could be closed under plans to reduce the number of school places.

Bristol City Council’s School Organisation Strategy has gone to public consultation, and seeks to reduce the amount of surplus school places across the city.

The strategy calculates a forecast for the number of children needing primary school places across different areas of the city in the next few years.

In Hengrove and Whitchurch Park, despite a stable birth rate and the continued building of new homes, the Council’s figures predict student numbers will drop.

As a result, it recommends that two forms in each primary school year should be closed across the local area.

Cllr Tim Kent, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Hengrove and Whitchurch Park, said: 

“This council report presents a grave danger to our local schools.

“It recommends that two local forms are closed in our area. This most likely means we will lose two of our local primary schools.

“Their figures say that the number of children needing school places in our area will reduce over the coming years. 

“This is a catastrophic miscalculation.

“The report itself says that birth rates in the local area have stabilised, and we know that over 2500 homes are going to be built nearby over the next few years.

“The demand on our schools is only going to increase. We must keep our local schools open.

“To close them now would be a disservice to local families, and a betrayal of new ones hoping to move to the area.”

Cllr Andrew Varney, Liberal Democrat member of the council’s Children and Young People Committee, said:

“Ensuring that we have school places where we need them, when we need them, is essential.

“Every child deserves the best possible start in life, and that shouldn’t be down to a postcode lottery. 

“Families must have access to local school places and not be forced to go on lengthy school runs.”

Outlining their concerns and calling for help, the Liberal Democrat Councillors for Hengrove and Whitchurch Park have written to the headteachers and governors of local primary schools. 

The Liberal Democrats will continue to campaign to keep local schools open, and ensure families get a fair deal.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

• The consultation on the School Organisation Strategy can be found here: https://www.bristol.gov.uk/ask/find-consultation-engagement/consultation-engagement?id=244
• The short summary of the School Organisation Strategy can be found here: https://www.bristol.gov.uk/files/ask-bristol/9775-school-organisation-strategy-short-summary/file
• The evidence summary of the School Organisation Strategy can be found here: https://www.bristol.gov.uk/files/ask-bristol/9777-evidence-summary-for-the-school-organisation-strategy-for-consultation
  • Section relating to Hengrove and Whitchurch Park begin on Page 47. Key details of the forecast and recommendations can be found on Pages 49 and 50.
• Cllr Tim Kent is one of three Liberal Democrat Councillors for Hengrove and Whitchurch Park. Ward colleagues are Cllr Sarah Classick and Cllr Andrew Brown.
• Cllr Andrew Varney is the Liberal Democrat Councillor for Brislington West, and the Liberal Democrat member on the council’s Children and Young People Policy Committee.