Phased closure of Marlow primary school announced as 'local birthrate declines'

A historic primary school in Marlow has announced that it will close its doors for the last time in July 2027.

St Peter’s Catholic Primary School will undergo a phased closure, following a decision by the Secretary of State for Education and the directors of the St Thomas Catholic Academies Trust.

This is due to a drop in admissions as the ‘local birthrate declines’, which has resulted in the 2024/25 reception class being only a quarter of what it should be.

St Peter’s has the capacity to welcome 210 children each day, and was operating at 62 per cent capacity with 130 children enrolled in 2022.

There were 68 children in the school at the start of this 2025/26 academic year, and if Reception intake remains the same, the school will be operating at 27 per cent capacity by September 2027.

“Given that schools are funded on the number of pupils that we have, this means we are in a very difficult financial position,” said the CEO of the St Thomas Catholic Academy Trust, Mark McLaughlin.

“Furthermore, with large year groups leaving, it is expected that we will have less than 60 children in two years and will drop further after that.”

The Prospect Road school launched a ‘listening period’ on Thursday, October 1, to hear the community’s views on the closure.

Frequently Asked Questions were published on the school website this week, highlighting that the school will have accumulated a projected deficit of £600,000 by the end of the 2027/28 academic year, which would exceed £1.2million in five years.

Mr McLaughlin said: “We are deeply proud of everything that has been achieved at St Peter’s.

“It is a delightful place to be.

“Lots has been done to promote the school and continue to ensure it maintains a high quality of education for all, as was noted in both our most recent Ofsted and Catholic inspections.

“With fewer children and rising costs, it is becoming impossible to deliver the standards that our parents expect, we believe in and, crucially, our brilliant children deserve.”

St Peter’s intends to remain open for the current Year 5s until July 2027, as there are fewer spaces for this year group in the local area.

All other year groups will be supported to relocate to other schools in the summer of 2026.

The listening period will conclude on Wednesday, November 6, at 5pm once the community has learned about the rationale for starting the process and expressed its views.

“I appreciate how difficult this news is to hear,” added Mr McLaughlin.

“As a Catholic trust, we are committed to our communities and our faith – and the importance of this decision is something that has been at the centre of our prayers and thoughts.

“However, with so few children, we simply can’t continue to deliver everything that has been at the heart of this school for so long.

“While this is a difficult process, our key focus throughout will be supporting our children, our staff and their collective families.

“We will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the school continues to be a happy and productive place to be for as long as we continue.”