Northamptonshire village will lose 'kind, friendly, caring and loving heart' if school closes, say parents

Parents and children say they will be devastated if Great Creaton Primary School closes.

Although Great Creaton Primary School only has 30 pupils, parents say they their children will be left in the lurch if the county council decides to shut the school in June.

If passed, families would have just weeks until the summer holidays to find their children a new school in time for the new academic year.

The local authority opened a public consultation on whether Great Creaton Primary should close at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday (March 14).

One parent said: "Although Great Creaton Primary is a small school, it has an enormous kind, friendly, caring and loving heart. The atmosphere that emanates from it is that of a family community.

"The threat of closure to our school has angered parents. They feel betrayed and disappointed as the people that we have entrusted the welfare of our school to have gone behind everyone’s back and done this."

The county council has forecast the school will have only one Year 6 pupil in 2019, but parents have challenged this.

Nearly half of Great Creaton's 30 pupils have special educational needs and currently splits its year groups into two mixed-age classes.

One parent said: "We haven’t felt that our children have been disadvantaged socially and the older children mix easily with the younger ones.

"Personally, our children would have struggled within a bigger school setting.

"If the school closes, how many weeks have you got until the schools shut for the summer to find your child a new school for the academic year? We are angry, to say the least."

The consultation begins on March 22 and end on May 17.

Parents have since launched an online petition to "save Great Creaton Primary School".