Stark warning from top official: Some schools in Southwark may have to go

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Service

Schools in Southwark will have to close to maintain high standards in the face of cuts in funding, an education official has warned.

Ofsted rates 98 per cent of schools in the borough ‘good’ or ‘outstanding,’ but many are struggling due to plummeting student numbers and a lack of money.

David Quirke-Thornton, director of children’s services at the council, said the borough was facing a “perfect storm” of falling school intakes, a drop in Government funding and rising inflation – pushing up costs.

He said Southwark headteachers understood some schools would have to close and merge to maintain the quality of education.

Speaking at a Southwark council cabinet meeting on Tuesday, he said: “We have incredible headteachers and chairs of governors in this borough.

“These are people who came here when Southwark was rock bottom. It’s not that long ago that Southwark was joint worst nationally for education outcomes.

“The painful reality is that some schools will have to close and some schools will have to merge. Because they know if they don’t do that, what starts to eat away immediately is the quality of the educational offer.”

The number of babies being born in Southwark every year has plummeted by 1,500 in just over a decade.

Labour councillor Jasmine Ali, cabinet member for education, said the drop in births equated to 50 classes that schools across the borough were struggling to fill.

She said: “The difficulty is that we have a surplus of school places.

“There are a number of factors that contribute to this, not least the uncertainties of Brexit and Brexit proper, not least the pandemic that has made a lot of families think they can hold a city job and live elsewhere.”

Southwark received the second lowest amount of money in London this year for education, despite having more than double the number of schools compared to boroughs like Camden. There are about 100, compared to 40 in Camden.

Mr Quirke-Thornton said: “The context isn’t just the sobering reality of falling birth rates.

“It’s also that the money we have to sustain that quality is shrinking very rapidly. If you add on top of that inflation you can see a perfect storm gathering. The crisis is really acute.”

Pictured top: Southwark council HQ (Picture: Google Street View)