Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Primary School is set to shut at the end of this school year. As the school prepares to close down on 31 July 2024, parents are anxiously waiting for their kids to be allotted a different school.
Islington Council decided to close the school as it saw a rapid decline in the number of enrolled pupils, with fewer than half of its places filled. Blessed Sacrament, which is on Boadicea Street, Kings Cross, has space for 30 children in its reception class, but as of January this year, only six pupils are in the class.
Earlier this year, the school applied to turn the school into an academy in the hope of avoiding the closure, but the Department of Education denied the request. Islington Now spoke to a few parents about this decision.
Toni Payne, whose five-year-old son attends Blessed Sacrament, said: “I am absolutely gutted that it’s closing down. My son is extremely upset. He cried on the whole way home when they announced that the school would be closing down. My youngest is terrified of having to start a new school, not having his friends and getting used to a whole new curriculum. He is heartbroken.”
Another parent said: “We don’t want to talk about it. It’s finished now. What’s the point of talking about something when nothing is going to happen?”
Some parents said they didn’t understand why a school as good as Blessed Sacrament was being shut.
Most did not know where their children will study after the school closes down.
“We were not even told where our children will be going. This is absolutely unfair. The parents don’t have a say in it.”
Andreia, the mother of a child enrolled in the school
Another mother said she was worried about how all the children will adjust in new schools.
Ms Payne said she is concerned about whether her son would be able to go to another Catholic school. She said: “I have no clue where my son is going. With my oldest being in Maria Fidelis School, and as a working parent, it was easier for me to get both of my children after school since the schools are close by.”
She continued: “There is no other Catholic school in this area. [The schools that are there] are too far for me to be able to collect one and get to the other one on time. It looks like he will probably have to go to a school that’s not a Catholic school.”
