Two Catholic schools in South London are set to merge due to a drop in pupil numbers and falling birth rates.
St Bede’s Catholic Infant and Nursery School and St Bernadette Catholic Junior School in Lambeth will become one primary school following Cabinet approval on Monday evening (June 30).
The new school will operate from the St Bede’s site and will come into force from September 2025. St Bede’s will extend its age range to include children aged 7-11 while the St Bernadette site will close.
During Monday’s meeting, Lambeth Council’s leadership approved the amalgamation in line with recommendations set out in a Cabinet report.
Falling pupil rolls and declining birth rates is an issue that is impacting not just Lambeth schools, but schools across the capital.
Last month Westminster City Council approved two separate school mergers while Southwark Council made the “difficult” decision to close two of its primary schools, taking the total number of schools to have shut down in the South London borough since 2022 to eight.
During the meeting, Ben Kind, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families, said: “We’ve all discussed the situation in Lambeth on several occasions about falling birth rates and the challenge that poses for schools in the borough – both St Bede’s and St Bernadette have been impacted to some extent like most schools have.”
Cllr Kind went on to say the merger was about “acting pro-actively and responsibly” to create an all-through primary school which will preserve Catholic education and secure long-term sustainability.
All pupils at St Bernadette’s will be offered a place at the new school and all permanent staff on a federation contract will be moving to the new site.
Headteacher, Ewa Ostrynska told Cabinet members that the majority of pupils and parents are very excited about the school merger, and said senior and curriculum leads already work across both schools.
Ms Ostrynska said: “We feel that we enable our school community to continue to thrive due to a decline in pupil rolls and strengthen our spiritual partnership with the church and with the parish.
“Of course it will ensure greater financial security for the schools and more stability for pupils, staff and the local community and potential cost savings as well.”
She went on to say the new school will allow the transition from nursery to primary to be “seamless” and SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) children will be supported all the way from aged 3 to 11 as families will no longer have to make multiple applications during nursery, reception and heading into Year 2/3.
Ms Ostrynska said parents will benefit from bringing their children to one site rather than travelling to separate locations, while staff will also benefit from opportunities such as gaining more experience and training.
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