Warning primary schools face 'catastrophic' wave of closures: Fears plummeting Covid birth rate and...

Britain's plummeting birth rate is threating to trigger a 'catastrophic' meltdown of the nation's education system, with fears shrinking class sizes could spark a tsunami of primary school closures.

It comes as the capital continues to struggle with an exodus of families and a falling birth rate, with 8,000 fewer children predicted to go to school in the next four years. But the decline is not just limited to London, with hundreds of primary schools across England and Wales at risk of being forced to close due to the falling birth rates.

The Education Policy Institute has now warned the shocking drop in Britain's birth rate risks putting schools out of business - amid fears English schools could lose £1bn by 2030 as pupil numbers continue to fall. Projections by the think-tank suggest pupil numbers fell by 818,000 between 2022-23 and 2032-33, following a national birth-rate slump.

Campaigners have warned that 'procreation has become a luxury item' is driving the decline - amid fears parents can no longer afford to have a child. A baby boom in the early 2000s, partially fuelled by migration, fizzled out and births began to decline from 2012. It has meant primary schools that were once scrambling to acquire extra classrooms are now unable to fill places, which has already led to dozens facing closure.

However, the number of children entering the first year of secondary school is also expected to drop from next year, with the overall number of pupils in London boroughs set to decline by 4.3 per cent by 2027. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, urged the Government to take a 'pragmatic approach' and keep open schools even as pupil numbers fall.

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