Funding fears amid decreasing demand for school places in London
Amrit Virdi
Monday, March 4, 2024
A drop in demand for secondary school places in the capital could lead to cutting after-school clubs, narrowing curriculums and more school closures due to reduced funding, London Councils has warned.
There has been a 2.48 per cent decrease in the number of applications made for secondary school places in London this year, data published on National Secondary Offer Day 2024 by the Pan London Admissions Board reveals.
This comes as secondary school admissions were announced last week, with 94 per cent of children in London being offered a place in their preferred secondary school.
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The drop in applications is set to impact the amount of funding a school receives, resulting in narrower curriculums, fewer staff and reduced extra-curricular activities. Schools may also have to close or merge, according to London Councils, the umbrella body for the capital's local authorities.
The falling birth rate is one factor contributing to the drop in applications, as London Councils predicted a drop in demand of 4.3 per cent for secondary school places over the next four years. Migration is also a factor, with families moving out of the city.
Councillor Ian Edwards, London Councils’ executive member for children and young people, said: “London’s population has always ebbed and flowed, so it is likely that the birth rate will pick up in due course.
"However, it is difficult to predict when and if this will happen, so local authorities will have to work closely with communities, schools and other local services in the meantime to ensure that we don’t lose vital assets, such as schools, now that we may need in the future.”
Councils across London have been closing schools due to a current fall in birth rates, including four primary schools run by Hackney Council.
The mayor of London Sadiq Khan recently told CYP Now that he was “really worried about local authorities taking permanent decisions based on what could be a short to medium term blip in the demography of London”.
“I’d encourage councils not to take decisions which later on they regret. If they’re boomerang Londoners and they come back and schools have been shut down and property sold off, that’s a problem. We’re doing what we can to keep families in London but it’s really difficult without government support,” he said.
