School with 19 pupils could close

Sparkwell's governors have had problems recruiting a new head

A village school in Devon could close this summer because there are not enough children going there.

Class sizes at Sparkwell's All Saints Church of England Primary have been shrinking for years and it has now got only 19 pupils.

Discussions have been taking place between the governors, the county council and the Diocese of Exeter.

Local people are being asked for their thoughts, but the governors are recommending it should close.

If the school closes, the life of the village is gone. Doreen Torrington

One advertisement for a head failed to gain any responses and a second drew two applications of which one was later withdrawn.

Villager Doreen Torrington, 87, went to the primary herself and was later the school caretaker for 30 years.

She told BBC News: "The village will die because we have not got a shop or post office.

"If the school closes, the life of the village is gone."

Mervyn Benford from the National Association for Small Schools, said there was "no reason" that a school of 19 pupils could not be as good as a larger school.

"Schools smaller than that are getting glowing inspection reports across the UK," he said.

He said recruitment was a problem across all schools.

"All our evidence suggests that the one biggest deterring factor putting people off from applying is not the burdens and problems that go allegedly with small schools but the sheer climate of uncertainty that constantly surrounds the future of any small school."

Devon County Council said in a statement that it was "committed to maintaining small rural schools".

However it said Sparkwell Primary was a Church of England school and as such the governors had taken the decision to recommend closure of the school this summer.

"This is because of the falling pupil numbers and the very real difficulty they have had in recruiting a permanent head to replace the acting head who retires this summer," the statement said.