‘The community is in the fabric of the building’: as UK pupil numbers fall, what will happen to empty schools?

Jo Riley could not face staying in London for the start of the new school year. She was the headteacher of Randal Cremer primary school in Hackney for 11 years before it was forced to close at the end of August due to falling pupil numbers.

"Not being there in September is one of the hardest things," said Riley. "I had to run away from London at the start of term. I couldn't bear not being on the gate, seeing our kids."

The school building is now empty. "I had parents ask me 'what are they going to do with it?'"

They are not the only ones asking this question. Randal Cremer is one of several schools around the country that have closed their doors because of a lack of students. The Archbishop Tenison's school opposite the Oval cricket ground in London, which closed last year, is now the property of the Duchy of Cornwall, Prince William's estate, which already owned the freehold. A spokesperson has said that "proposals for the future of the site are being prepared".

Last year, the Guardian reported that more than 90 primary schools in England were to close or were at risk of closure because of a combination of falling ­birthrates and young families ­relocating amid rising housing and childcare costs. Research by the Education Policy Institute in April said London, the north-east, and Yorkshire and the Humber were expected to see the largest percentage decrease in pupil numbers by 2030.

Earlier this year, Lambeth council launched a consultation after it saw 975 places removed from schools – from 3,650 to 2,675 – between 2016 and 2025. It reported that, in January, there were more than 500 vacant places in reception classes, almost 20% of the total available.

Riley said high private rents and a lack of suitable accommodation and social housing in the area played a big part in Randal Cremer's dwindling pupil numbers. Its closure was emotional for the local community.

"At the initial meeting with the council, there were so many of our families there and a lot of tears and anger," she said. "We were proud to be such a community-based school. If you serve a community for almost 150 years [Randal Cremer was built in 1875], it almost seeps into the fabric of the building."

The Rookhope primary school in Weardale, off the Northumberland coast, closed in August because it had just five pupils. Councillor John Shuttleworth, who lives in Rookhope village, said: "We will try to find a use for [the building] in case some kids come back."

The demographic of the area is changing, he said. "It's a shame, but since Covid we have had a situation where a house owner dies, it goes up for sale, and then people from London, the south-east, Portsmouth – [people] who are predominantly retired – move in. The question for the council is: was it right to educate five kids of different ages in a school and not mix with other kids? You have to say it probably isn't."

The local fluorite mines closed in the 1980s, and in 2002 the Weardale Blue Circle cement plant also closed. Shuttleworth said that dozens of families then moved away.

Last year, however, lithium, which is used for electric cars and rechargeable batteries, was found locally in County Durham – one of only two sources of the material in the UK. It is hoped the mining plant that will be built to extract it could bring 1,000 jobs to the surrounding areas.

"Hopefully ... we can bring some young people back to make use of our buildings," said Shuttleworth.

The historic St Martin-in-the-Fields High School for Girls, founded by the archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Tenison in 1699, had been based in Tulse Hill, south London, since 1928. It hosted its final GCSE results day in the summer before closing, and is to become a therapeutic centre, the brainchild of the charity Oasis, and the St Martin's Foundation Trust.

The goal of St Martin's Village, as it is now called, will be to provide care and supplementary education for young people who have "fallen through the cracks", or are absent from education. The charity has partnered with voluntary groups including the Crystal Palace Football Club's Palace For Life Foundation and a music therapy organisation, Symphony, to work with the young people.

A similar venture was launched in the buildings of Kingsmead, a former independent school in the Wirral, Merseyside, last year, focused on helping pupils at risk of serious crime and harm. Steve Chalke, the founder of Oasis, said: "It costs a lot to run these sites so you have to think entrepreneurially about the needs of young people and how we create a sustainable future for these sites and how we meet their needs."

Chalke hopes that local authorities around the country will take inspiration from Oasis's projects and find ways to repurpose their empty school buildings.

In his view, the closures leave owners and local authorities with two options: employing security companies to look after buildings or selling them off. He does not think that either is sustainable, particularly if the birthrate goes up again, and believes the sites could play a vital role in helping to address the problems facing young people today.

"How many great grassroots organisations do you know who teach karate, boxing, gardening or catering, or whatever it might be? They haven't got anywhere to do it – and yet there are going to be a load of empty schools which are going to need upkeep anyway," he said.

"So why not put the same amount of money into working with local charities that can take responsibility for the building on a lease, look after them and make it a hub of activity for young people?"