Decision details

After consideration of a report of the Corporate Director Children and Young People’s Service regarding the outcome of the public consultation carried out on a proposal to close Clapham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, and after consultation with Executive Members, the Chief Executive Officer agreed that:
(i)Statutory proposals be published on 23 April 2020, proposing to cease to maintain Clapham CE VC Primary School with effect from 31 August 2020; and that the catchment areas of Austwick CE VC Primary School and Bentham CP School be extended from 1 September 2020 to jointly serve the area currently served by Clapham CE VC Primary School.
(ii)A final decision on the proposal be taken on 9 June 2020.

*PLEASE NOTE This decision was originally published on or near the date of the decision and so call in no longer applies. It has been re-published as part of the change in committee management system that we use.*
Decision taken by Richard Flinton, Chief Executive Officer, under his emergency delegated powers and in consultation with Executive Members.
The proposal consulted on was that the local authority would cease maintaining the school from 31 August 2020 and that the catchment areas of both Austwick CE VA Primary School and Bentham Community Primary School would be extended to form a shared catchment area to serve the area currently covered by Clapham CE Primary School. 27 individual consultation responses had been received, the bulk of which covered issues relating to the catchment area proposal. Three responses indicated support for the closure and three indicated opposition.
A great deal of work had been done by the local community to support the long term future of the school but the falling number of pupils on roll meant that it was not sustainable and it was important to give clarity to people in Clapham and the surrounding area.