Parents have said their children are ‘thriving, achieving and growing in confidence’ while attending a village’s primary school at risk of closure. 

Great Gidding Primary School is facing potential closure due to low numbers of children being forecast to attend in future years. 

Cambridgeshire County Council held a public consultation on the potential closure to gather views from parents and members of the public. 

A final decision is yet to be made. 

The authority has raised concerns about the impact dropping pupil numbers could have on the future viability of the school, and the impact going from three classes to two could have on children’s educational outcomes. 

However, some parents have said the small school has helped their children more than a larger school could have. 

‘Great Gidding Primary School was blessing after move from Spain’ 

Emma Bhamra has two daughters at Great Gidding. She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that she found out about the school after her youngest was rejected for a place elsewhere. 

She said being given a place at Great Gidding was a “blessing” that helped both of her daughters. 

Ms Bhamra said the family moved to the area from Spain about a year ago, and explained that her youngest had been attending school in Spain where she has been learning in Spanish. 

Ms Bhamra said after only a few months at Great Gidding, the teachers had helped her daughter to exceed her expectations. 

She said the school had also helped her eldest daughter who she said has a rare medical condition that can cause her a lot of pain. 

The eldest daughter had previously attended a larger primary school nearby, but Ms Bhamra said they were not able to help her daughter in the same way Great Gidding did. 

She said: “[The other school] did not have the time or capacity to help her as much, in such a big class she tended to get lost. 

“At Great Gidding, they have kept her in school, she had only had time off recently for an operation, and they have helped her catch up on her education.” 

Ms Bhamra said her youngest daughter had taken 75p into the school without her knowing to give as a donation to help save it. 

“It was so sweet but heartbreaking as she does not understand the concept of money and thought ‘I have 75p, I can save the school,” she said. 

‘School is valuable local asset but struggles with people not knowing about it’ 

Matt Robinson’s seven-year-old son attends Great Gidding He too found out about the school after his son was refused a place elsewhere, but said they were “very lucky” to find it. 

He said: “My son thrives there. I think the mixed classes are a good thing as it’s helped him grow in confidence. 

“He gets a lot more attention and I am concerned with him being bright, articulate and well behaved that if he is put in a 30-plus class, because he is not difficult he might be left to his own devices.” 

Mr Robinson said the school is a “valuable asset to the community”, but said it struggles with awareness of people knowing about it. 

He added that his son is “devastated” that he might have to leave his friends behind, but said they are looking at other schools already as they must put him first. 

‘Issue not taken lightly’ 

Speaking in a public meeting about the consultation on February 2, Jonathan Lewis, director for education at the county council, said the number of children at the school was forecast to go below 40 in September, meaning it would not be able to run three classes and would have to downsize to two. 

Mr Lewis said the situation previously had been different as the number of children was predicted to come back up. 

He also said the requirements for schools had changed compared to 10 years ago. 

He added the authority had looked at other options, including joining a federation with another school, and joining an academy trust, but said none of these options were deemed possible. 

Mr Lewis added that the issue was “not taken lightly” explaining that the last school closure in Cambridgeshire was back in 1992. 

Councillors are due to consider the results of the consultation at a meeting next week where they will be asked to decide whether to move to the next stage of the process to close the school.