Hollowing out London: school closure

A Workers reader from north London writes to reflect on a school closure and what’s lead to it.

“Workers has highlighted the problems of London being ‘hollowed out’, of young families unable to afford property prices in the capital due to speculative building and renting out for profit. This has many effects.

Symptom

“The closure of primary schools is both a symptom of this process, and something which will of itself hinder its reversal – who will move to an area with no schools?

“One of the oldest schools in the country is to close for this very reason. St Mary’s Church of England school in Stoke Newington, north London, is to close due to falling pupil numbers. It has been open as a school since 1563, for 462 years. It’s one of 34 schools in the latest round of closures.

“Unable to withstand capitalism’s twisted priorities.”

“Imagine the events that have not led to the closure of that school; the fire of London, plague, revolution, world wars and more. But it has not been able to withstand capitalism’s twisted set of priorities; build for profit, rent to foreigners, refuse to plan, or to look after our children, and their children.

“To argue that losing a religious school is no loss would miss the point. If even a religious school, with a limited degree of independence, cannot resist the encroachment of this invidious process, what chance do other schools have?

And in the London Borough of Southwark, over the river from Stoke Newington, there are no primary schools left which are not academies and/or faith schools. That is bleak future indeed, should we continue to permit it.”