Rural schools in Northumberland face falling pupil numbers with urban counterparts oversubscribed

The data, obtained via a Freedom of Information request, show the number of secondary age pupils has fallen at just over half of the county’s school partnerships between 2014 and 2024. This reflects the county’s ageing population.

According to the 2021 census, there were 11.1 million over 65s in the county, making up 18.6% of the population. This was up from 9.2 million in 2011 (16.4%) and 7.3 million (15.0%) 40 years ago.

The county’s birth rate has also been declining, with a steady fall year on year between 2012 and 2022 – mirroring a national trend. The result of this has been additional pressure on the county’s schools, particularly those in rural areas.

Schools are funded per pupil, meaning falling student numbers impacts already stretched budgets.

The number of primary school pupils in the rural partnerships Alnwick, Berwick, Haydon Bridge, Prudhoe and Hexham all declined between 2014 and 2024. In contrast, pupil numbers in more built up areas or those that have seen higher levels of new housing, such as Blyth, Ponteland and Morpeth saw pupil numbers increase.

In terms of secondary-school pupils, Haydon Bridge High School lost more than a third of its pupils between 2014 and 2024, with the number falling from 757 to 464. There was also a significant decrease in Berwick, with the number of pupils falling from 1,194 to 983.

There were also declines in Alnwick and Prudhoe, as well as a significant fall in the Ashington partnership.

Northumberland County Council has taken action to attempt to improve the viability of as many schools as possible.

Coun Guy Renner Thompson, the council’s cabinet member for children’s services, said: “The most high profile changes that we are making at the moment are around the Berwick Partnership. The whole consultation around the changes was forced by a lack of pupils and the amount of surplus places we have in our schools.

“It is our policy to keep as many small rural schools open as possible. Once a village loses a school, they lose the community because young people don’t move there.

“We encourage the sharing of resources such as the sharing of headteachers and governing bodies and federating smaller shcools.

“When it comes to high schools, when we have rebuilt them we build them to the number of pupils that are needed. The old ones were built for more pupils, so there is more square footage that needs to be heated and lit.

“If you build a modern building to the actual size you need, you’re reducing costs for those schools.

“Schools are paid per pupil. Birth rates are falling, but we as a council do everything we can to make sure our services are as good as they can be so there’s no reason people don’t feel they can’t have a family.

There has been controversy in Northumberland in recent months over the Government’s plan to increase the county’s housing targets. While the Conservative-led administration has been against the plans, Northumberland Labour has suggested it could be an opportunity to boost the number of houses in areas with falling pupil numbers.

Responding to this, Coun Renner Thompson said: “It’s not a magic bullet to just build more houses. In somewhere like Berwick, there is land to build houses but the house builders don’t want them.

“Where we have oversubscribed schools like in Morpeth, the proposals will have the opposite effect. We have got to have a vibrant, thriving economy so people can afford to have a house and a family.

“That is what we are working on in the county so people can stay in the county and have a good job. All our plans are about making people want to stay here.”