Lib Dems: Sinking school places is a sorry state for Lambeth pupils

St Martin-in-the-Field High School for Girls announced on Friday that its doors would not reopen in September for students in Years 7-9. There are currently 388 students at St Martin’s and 55 members of staff.

It is the second of Lambeth’s nineteen state-funded secondary schools to announce its closure in less than a month, following an announcement by Archbishop Tenison’s School in April.

St Martin’s, which is one of the oldest schools for girls in the UK, has a 324-year history but cited diminishing pupil numbers and fewer applications as the main reason for closure.

Because funding for schools is awarded based on its pupil numbers, parents were told that “it is no longer viable for St Martin’s to continue operating as a school”.

Councillor Matthew Bryant, Deputy Leader of the Lambeth Liberal Democrat Group, commented:

“Our first concern is for the pupils facing disruption at such short notice. Changing teachers, friendship groups, and travel arrangements will be deeply unsettling for many young people.

This academic year, the Conservative Government recklessly slashed school funding by £222 per pupil in Lambeth. Backwards funding formulas and a housing crisis that pushes parents out of London means our children and young people are left to bear the brunt of the Government’s incompetence.

We’ve lost two schools in one month and it simply can’t continue like this.”