Hackney girls’ school looks set to welcome boys in effort to combat drop in pupils

Students and staff at Our Lady’s were visited by a group of Polish students in 2018. Photograph: Our Lady’s

A Hackney girls’ school could become co-educational in the latest move to cope with falling pupil numbers across the borough.

The governors at Our Lady’s Catholic Girls’ School in Stamford Hill have suggested the change to help fill empty places.

The school has 120 places for Year 7 but 54 will be empty this year and that pattern “is expected to continue”.

Governors said there are not enough places for boys, including brothers of current pupils, at Catholic schools in Hackney and they have to travel further to school.

According to a report prepared for the school: “Governors believe that transition to a co-educational school will help maximise resources that support children’s learning, and will increase the school’s popularity.”

The cabinet is likely to back the move as schools across London face a drop in the number of pupils.

Education bosses blame the problem on falling birth rates and families moving away because of the high cost of housing in London, Brexit and the cost-of-living crisis.

Overall, Hackney schools have £30m less in funding compared to what they would get if classrooms were full. This is because funding is distributed per child.

Hackney’s 16 secondary schools have not yet felt the impact as much as the borough’s primaries, but a Town Hall report said it has hit Our Lady’s Catholic Girls’ School’s finances and “long-term sustainability”.

It said the school has matched staffing levels with the drop in school numbers but recruitment into Year 7 and the sixth form is “increasingly difficult”.

The change would happen over time, with the first boys starting in Year 7 next September.

The school already has a mixed sixth form.

The school held an informal consultation this spring. According to a report for cabinet, teachers are “strongly supportive” and most parents, particularly those with sons, welcomed the move.

However, some parents said they would prefer their daughters to study at a girls-only school and felt parental choice would be reduced if the number of single-gender schools is cut.

Staff also surveyed pupils – 83 backed the move and 56 rejected it. A further 95 said they had no strong opinion about the change.

Governors issued a statutory notice last month to give parents and residents a chance to share their views.

The change will also have to be endorsed by the Archbishop of the RC Diocese of Westminster, and the Schools’ Adjudicator.