Schools face tough choices as birth rate falls

Falling birth rates are leaving some schools with more places than pupils and less funding to meet their costs. In Yeadon, Leeds, two schools merged after facing a projected £1.6m combined deficit, but falling enrolment is still forcing difficult choices about staffing and buildings.

Births in the Guiseley, Yeadon and Rawdon area fell from 402 in 2016/17 to 258 in 2024/25. The merged Yeadon school expects to become a one-form entry primary by January 2029, with pupils moving to the larger junior site by that year; the former infants site’s future is undecided. Across Yorkshire, the number of four-year-olds is projected to fall by 2,356, or 4.7%, between 2026 and 2031, while staff representatives say redundancies can increase workloads and class sizes.