PARENTS in Wirral will continue to face the possibility of their local schools closing as the council revealed its plans to press on with its review of primaries across the borough.
According to the authority’s own figures, the percentage of surplus places in the borough’s primary schools is projected to be even higher than when they began the recent school closures programme.
A report to Wirral Council’s ruling cabinet says that, by 2013, “one in five schools are likely to have more than 25% and 30 surplus places”.
In 2004, when the Primary Places Review started, the number of pupils of primary age in Wirral schools was 26,044 and was projected to fall to 24,294 by 2008.
The actual number of primary age pupils this year was 23,855 – 439 pupils fewer than had been projected at that time, and 2% less than the original projection.
The report to cabinet said: “The number of primary age pupils has been falling steadily over a long period of time and will continue to fall for the next two years. Based upon live birth figures which will translate into intakes up to 2013, there are indications of an increase in the annual number of births, resulting in small rises in primary age pupils from 2011 to 2013.”
However, it also said that, despite the small recent upturn in births, Wirral’s primary schools are still expected to accommodate 2,100 fewer pupils in 2013 than in 2004 when the review began.
This is despite the closures of The Dell Primary School, St Paul’s Catholic Primary School, Vyner Primary School and St Oswald’s CE, linked to a new primary school on the current St Oswald’s site.