In this article, which is part of a series on the 12 stories in the Harrogate district that shaped 2022, we look at the controversial closure of Woodfield Community Primary School in Harrogate.
On the last day of this year, Woodfield Community Primary School will officially cease to exist. But in truth, the life has been slowly sucked from the school over the last 18 months.
The school’s prospects had been bleak since an Ofsted report rated it inadequate in 2020.
Under government rules, schools rated inadequate need to join an academy or face closure.
The future of the site remains uncertain.
Hopes were raised when a monitoring report by Ofsted said the school was taking “effective action” to improve. But North Yorkshire County Council, the local education authority, said it was unable to give the school more time because the decision was “out of our hands, because of the system”.
The council eventually revealed plans to amalgamate Woodfield with nearby Grove Road Community Primary School. But the Grove Road governors torpedoed this in April, citing concerns about risk. From this moment on Woodfield’s days were effectively numbered.
The county council opened a consultation on closure and although the idea was met with fury by the trade union Unison, which said closure would be “an absolute disgrace” driven by ideology rather than common sense, and politicians on all sides lined up to say how much the school was needed, the outcome was never in doubt.
June’s poorly attended public meeting.
On a blisteringly hot day in June, council officials held a meeting as part of the consultation. Speaker by speaker methodically spelled out the case for closure — falling pupil numbers, a cumulative deficit of £229,000 in 2023/34 and the Ofsted rating.
Nobody in the room seemed to agree but only about 20 people were there. Parents said it was a done deal and had moved their children elsewhere.
In July the council said it had “no option” but to press ahead with closure.
There were more legal hoops to jump through as formal closure notices were published from September onwards.
The school officially remained open during the autumn term but the only remaining decisions were what to do with the few remaining pupils and staff — as well as the spacious school site.
In October, the council said it would consider “alternative educational uses” for the extensive school site, which many locals suspect will end up as housing. It said:
“The county council will be exploring whether there are alternative educational uses for the school buildings. There are controls around the reuse or redevelopment of school sites, and any alternative uses that are proposed will be the subject of consultation.”
This month, the Stray Ferret asked the council what progress had been made in discussions about the use of the site. A council spokeswoman replied:
“There is no update from our last statements. We are still in discussions about the future use of the site.”
The school does not formally close until the clock strikes midnight on January 1. But the school, synonymous with children’s laughter for 56 years, is empty and its future use uncertain.
Read more:
- ‘Badly let down’ Woodfield school closure confirmed
- Woodfield school site ‘should remain for education’ says MP
- ‘No option’ but to close Woodfield school, says council