Leading councillor refuses to rule out more school closures in Hertfordshire in the next year
Leading Hertfordshire county councillor Mark Watkin has refused to rule out further school closures in the next year, as the number of primary-aged pupils continues to fall.
After Albury Church of England Primary, near Bishop’s Stortford, and St Nicholas Church of England Primary School, in Elstree, were both closed this year, the county council’s executive member for education, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and inclusion Cllr Watkin refused to rule out further closures at a council meeting on Tuesday (October 20).
He had been asked for a guarantee that no more schools - including village schools - would close in the next year by Cllr Terry Smith (Reform Buntingford).
In response he said he could not, pointing specifically to Sandon JMI School, in Buntingford.
Questions had been raised about the future of Sandon JMI last year, at the same time that consultations on Albury CE and St Nicholas CE were given the go-ahead.
At that stage the school was given a 12-month reprieve to focus on an improvement plan.
However, referring to the school at the meeting, Cllr Watkin told councillors it was “certainly one area that might actually end up with that school closing.”
He told the councillor: “I cannot give the commitment to you today to say there will be no primary schools closing.”
In more general terms Cllr Watkin pointed to the falling numbers of children in primary schools across the county - with the authority having lost the equivalent of 60 forms of entry in recent years.
He said: “Certainly we have to constantly review the fact that we have falling rolls - and that we are basically losing about 60 forms of entry, from the capacity that we used to have to what we have, and that is causing some really challenging considerations.
“[…] If schools are not sustainable and are not able to provide the full richness of education that they should be, then it is reasonable to ask, ‘are they providing the role that they need to do, in the community they serve’?”
Cllr Watkin made the remarks at a meeting of the full county council, in response to a question from Cllr Smith.
Meanwhile, a petition to “save Sandon JMI School” has already been launched on the county council’s own website.
The petition - which was launched on October 19 and already has more than 100 signatures - calls on the authority to “stop the assault” on the school and to recognise it as “the SEND safe haven it is”.
It asks the council to give the school the time and space it needs “to help SEND students thrive in a small and nurturing rural mainstream school”.
“Sandon JMI school was earmarked for closure in 2025 due to falling pupil numbers,” says the petition.
“Thanks to the proposed closure process initiated by Herts County Council, the new head, new staff and some pupils left the school.
“Since then we have recruited another enthusiastic new head who has strengthened the SEND offering at Sandon School.
“Pupil numbers are growing once more, and we have good, permanent staff in place in all roles across the school.
“We are not in any debt and are receiving help from a government initiative that helps small schools stay open.
“Closing us now would seem a cruel waste of time and resources and mean that many students with Education, Health and Care Plans would need to find another setting, costing the council and ultimately, taxpayers, tens of thousands of pounds.”
The webcast of the county council meeting - and the Save Sandon JMI School 2026 petition - can be viewed through the county council’s website.