Plan to close and merge primary school halted

A decision to close a primary school and merge its students with another has been halted.

North Tyneside Council planned to shut Hazlewood Primary School in Wideopen and merge students with the nearby Greenfields Primary School, due to structural problems and projected falling student numbers.

In a letter to parents, Hazlewood said the decision had been blocked by the Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OFS), with the school saying it was "absolutely delighted".

The Labour-led council confirmed the decision had been blocked, but said the adjudicator had written to the local authority that the schools could still be merged later if building improvements could not be funded.

Hazlewood has "weak and brittle" concrete, the council has said, which previously led to parts of the school being closed over the risk of it collapsing - with children having to use portable toilets and having no access to hot food.

The plans to close Hazlewood and transfer its students was part of a wider proposal by the council to merge classrooms in response to "falling birth rates" in the area.

In the case of some of the schools, closures have been delayed or cancelled in favour of alternative options, whereas the merging of others has been agreed to go ahead.

The plans were unpopular with parents whose children attend Hazlewood, who also raised concerns over asbestos at Greenfields, which the council said was being managed according to legislation.

Sarah Fearon said parents had been fighting against the council ever since it made its original decision.

"We've got a whole load of ice lollies for the children to hand out at home time, get the music on, and celebrate," she said.

Fellow parent Sarah Stokoe said: "It's been a long 10 months for the pupils, the staff and the parents. It's nice to see a final outcome.

"Us parents have stuck by our guns backing this school - it really is a phenomenal school."

Emma Gardner said she hoped the council would be able to secure funding to repair the building, but was "so happy" the closure had been put on hold.

"There's been so much uncertainty for the children and the staff - so I bet everyone is over the moon," she said.

The council's director of children, young people, and learning, Rebecca Wall, said the local authority "appreciates this has been a sensitive and difficult process for the Hazlewood school community".

She said although the plans to close and merge the school had been rejected on this occasion, it did not mean they would not go ahead at a later point in time.

"[The adjudicator's] letter does say that Hazlewood's current buildings should not be used indefinitely, and in the absence of a source of capital funding, Hazlewood should close," she said.

"He adds that Greenfields has capacity to accommodate displaced pupils and future legislation will give the authority a route to bring forward a new proposal to merge the two schools.

"We will continue to support and communicate with the school's leadership while we review the adjudicator's letter and consider next steps."

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