Langdale Free School set to be closed by the government at the end of the summer term

Parents at Langdale Free School on Warbreck Drive were today (Monday, May 22) told that the school is being closed down by the Secretary of State for Education at the end of summer term.

A free school is a type of academy funded by the government but not run by the local authority, and there are currently 93 pupils at Langdale according to the government website.

What has the school said?

Linda Hillier, the Principal of Langdale Free School, said: “Langdale Free School provides an excellent quality of education for pupils. These high standards were confirmed in the school’s Ofsted report last year, which was glowing in many areas.

“Inspectors stated how much pupils enjoy attending the school and that they like the small class sizes where they get to know their teachers well. They highlighted the high expectations that leaders and teachers have. And they praised the ambitious curriculum and excellent teaching. Ofsted’s overall grade for the school was Good.

“However, the viability of the school has become increasingly challenging in recent years, due to a number of combined factors. We have a relatively small number of pupils at the school; our site is small and we cannot expand; and there is a surplus of school places at primary level in Blackpool, which means there are not enough pupils to fill all the primary schools in the town.

“While the Board and school leaders have worked extremely hard to overcome these issues and have explored every avenue, we are very sad to say today that the Secretary of State for Education has made a substantive decision that the school should close at the end of this term. This is of course a huge disappointment.

“The next steps of the process are that there will be a listening period of four weeks, ending on 26th June 2023, during which all interested parties will have the opportunity to provide their views and be given further information. At the end of that period, the school will consider those views and set them out for the secretary of state who will then make the final decision on the school’s closure. However, we do expect this term to be the school’s last.

“We have written to and spoken with parents and staff to let them know this news. We know that this will be an extremely worrying time for them. For parents, we have explained the process by which their child would attend a new school from September. We, the Department for Education and Blackpool Local Authority are all working together on this and minimising the impact on our pupils and their families is of paramount importance.

"For staff, who have always given such great and committed service to the children, we have explained what closure means for them and are supporting them fully. I would like to put on record my sincere thanks for all their incredibly hard and excellent work for the school.”

What have parents said?

The mother of a year 5 pupil at the school told the Gazette: “I was at work for the second week of my new job and I was that devasted I had to end my Teams call and go home because it was that much of a shock.

"I am really concerned, my daughter is going in to Year 6 in September, and obviously she’ll be doing her SATS in a new school where she doesn’t know anyone so how well is she going to perform? To go from such a very small school as well to potentially a much bigger school with a lot more children, what’s the effect of that?

“This school on this road used to be a private school and my older brother, who’s 40 this year, went as a child, my nephew went to it and has seen it all the way through, so to me it’s a really special school- it’s awful to see it go.

"I just think maybe the government needs to step in and help them a little bit, because it is a free school, they don’t get any outside funding in that sense. They should say they will try and do eveything to keep the school open and they’re not doing that.”

The pupil’s grandparent added: “Other parents have been in touch with admissions today, and it’s just going to be an arbitrary process, where they put down three schools with surplus places, and they dish them out ad hoc, without any consideration, by the sound of it, of trying to keep the group together… and I don’t think that’s appropriate.

"I think there are 13 children in my grandaughter’s class and I appreciate that’s quite a large number, but surely lets try and keep them into groups, and there must be some special consideration for the stress they’re causing these kids, through no fault of their own.

“It’s just appalling, and for this letter to come out on a Monday morning when most parents are at work- it should’ve come out on a Friday so that they can have some time to get their heads together.

“I have contacted our local councillors, and we will be contacing our MP, because although it seems like a done deal, the fact our views are going towards the Secretary of State means it could possibly be reversed. We’re just flabbergasted.”

The Department of Education has been approached for comment.