Consultation approved on closure of North Yorkshire village school with eight pupils

A public consultation on plans to close a small North Yorkshire village school with just eight pupils has been approved by councillors.

North Yorkshire Council has agreed to seek residents’ views on the proposed closure of Bilsdale Midcable Chopgate Church of England Primary School, near Stokesley, from August 31, 2027.

The decision was taken at a meeting on Tuesday by the council’s executive member for education, learning and skills, Cllr Annabel Wilkinson.

The six-week consultation will begin on Monday, November 9, and run until Friday, December 18, with a public meeting also planned.

The move follows a request from the school’s governing board, which concluded that falling pupil numbers and mounting financial pressures were making its future increasingly unsustainable.

The school, which has capacity for 48 children, currently has just eight pupils on its roll.

Four are in Year 6 and will leave at the end of the academic year, meaning numbers could fall to just four in September 2027 and three the following year.

None of the current pupils lives within the school’s catchment area.

Council documents reveal that just nine primary-aged children were living within the catchment area at the time of the 2025/26 school census, but all attended other schools.

Governors say the dwindling roll is making it increasingly difficult to provide the breadth of educational and social experiences children need, particularly opportunities to work and play with pupils of their own age.

Under the proposals, the existing Bilsdale school catchment area would be incorporated into that of Carlton and Faceby Primary School, which is around five miles away by road.

The council says there are sufficient places at neighbouring schools to accommodate the remaining pupils, with eligible children entitled to free home-to-school transport in accordance with its policy.

Local councillor Heather Moorhouse, who represents the Great Ayton division, has described the prospect of closure as a sad loss for the community.

Details of how to take part in the consultation are expected to be published shortly with the deadline for responses being 5pm on Friday, December 18.

The council’s executive is expected to consider the responses on January 26, 2027.

If the proposals progress, a further statutory consultation period would follow in February, with a final decision scheduled for March 30.