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Camden school proposals

Camden is an amazing place to learn and we’re proud of our exceptional schools and staff who work hard every day to give children the best education. We want every Camden child to have a local school place that is suitable for their needs in a full classroom to give them the best environment to learn, make friends and thrive.

Schools in Camden and many across London are under increasing financial pressure. Falling birth rates and families moving out of London means that there are fewer children to take up school places. This is leading to falling pupil numbers and surplus school places. This is a challenge because every empty school place means that primary schools lose an average of £7,500 of vital Government funding per year, and secondary schools lose an average of £9,700 per year.

As a council, we have a duty to ensure that there are sufficient, high-quality and sustainable school places and to manage these school places efficiently. With falling pupil numbers, we need to manage this working closely with schools.

In collaboration with local schools and partners, we have worked hard to tackle these issues. In partnership with Camden Learning, and through our Education Strategy, we have enabled schools to share expertise and resources whilst preserving what makes them unique. 

Since 2025, through our School Sufficiency Programme, we have also provided targeted support and training and reduced the number of school places (Published Admission Numbers) at some schools to ease the pressure on their finances. 

Proposals for school consultations

Despite everyone’s commitment, four schools continue to face the most acute and sustained pressures – including high vacancies, falling pupil numbers, surplus places and increasing financial pressure. These schools are: 

  • St Alban’s Church of England Primary School
  • St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School
  • St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School
  • La Sainte Union Catholic Secondary School

Next steps

  • At 5pm on 12 October 2026, we published a report that recommends consulting on the future of these schools. 
  • On 20 October 2026, Camden’s Cabinet Members – the group of lead councillors – will meet to consider this report and decide whether or not to go ahead with these individual consultations.
  • On 21 October, schools and their communities will be updated on the decision and next steps.

If consultations go ahead, we expect the timeline to be as follows and it is subject to change:

  • 2 November 2026 to 14 December 2026: consultations would run during this 6-week period and schools, families, and wider stakeholders will be consulted on a range of options. The options will be detailed on pages 3 to 4 of the Cabinet Paper, published here and we are currently developing a plan to make sure that if consultations go ahead, every parent and carer can have their say.
  • February 2027: Cabinet members would then review the outcome of the consultation, along with other factors, and consider which option to take forward for each school.
  • February 2027: If Cabinet decide on a proposal to close a school, a 4-week prescribed statutory consultation period would follow where the school, parents and carers, and wider stakeholders can again comment on the proposal.
  • April 2027: The final decision would be made.
  • April to May 2027: If decisions have implications for school staff, formal consultation processes would begin.
  • Implementation date: This will depend on what change is agreed, if any – but changes could be implemented from next academic year, September 2027.

We recognise that this is a difficult message to hear. However, it is important that we act now to address these challenges and prevent them from worsening to safeguard the quality and sustainability of Camden’s education offer now and in the future.

The approach we take will be underpinned by our education strategy, Building Back Stronger, and the following principles will guide everything we do during this process:

  • Children’s needs will be at the heart of everything we do: Every Camden child will have a place in a Camden school that is suitable for their needs. 

  • Collaborative: We will manage this process and make decisions in collaboration with schools, parents and carers, and children (where age appropriate).

  • Transparent: We will keep schools, parents, carers and local school communities updated every step of the way. 

  • Evidence-based: Every decision will be underpinned by a robust evidence base, which we will proactively communicate to you.

  • Supportive: We will ensure there is support in place for staff, parents, carers and children at affected schools – and especially for vulnerable cohorts.

  • Inclusive and accessible: We will ensure all affected families have an equitable opportunity to have their say, and we have proactively considered how proposals could impact different communities via an Equalities Impact Assessment for each school.

Further information 

Information in other languages will be available soon.

If you have any questions, please email:

You can also view or download a flyer for each school proposal here: