A SCHOOL in Lutterworth is set to close due to lack of demand, having only filled 90 of its 300 places.
The Sir Frank Whittle Studio School is due to close when the academic year ends in July as it is ‘not financially viable or educationally sustainable’.
Education minister Damian Hinds has given permission to The Lutterworth Academies Trust, which runs the school, to go ahead with the closure.
A school spokesperson said: “The decision to close was a very difficult one.
“The Trust has reviewed several options to keep the school open, but none are likely to be achievable within the local educational landscape and therefore it has been reluctantly agreed to apply for closure.”
Staff will not face redundancy, as they will be ‘redeployed elsewhere within The Trust’.
South Leicestershire MP Alberto Costa is due to meet with the Regional Schools Commissioner for the East Midlands to ‘assist in easing the school’s closure and the transition of its staff and pupils’.
He said: “I am disappointed to hear this news. I know that this decision has not been taken lightly, and I understand the Trust’s reasoning in closing the school at what has been a particularly difficult time.”
A four-week consultation period is now underway, during which people can put forward their views on the proposed closure.
The school’s curriculum, work experience and coaching provision will remain in place during the 2019-20 academic year to allow all current students to complete their courses and qualifications at partner school Lutterworth College.
The Trust plans to turn the school’s site into a special school.
