Parents have been left devastated after finding out just days before the summer holidays that their kids’ school will not reopen in September.

Pupils at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs school in Esh Winning, County Durham were told last week the school would cease teaching when they break up on Friday.

Parents had been consulted in recent weeks on the school’s future, with just 41 pupils enrolled, but say they were told the school would stay open for another two years.

But in a letter sent to parents last week bosses said the school would be ‘integrated’ with another primary school – St Joseph’s Catholic, three miles away in Ushaw Moor – in the new year.

Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic School in Esh Winning.Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic School in Esh Winning. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

One parent, who is on the parent teacher association and whose daughter attends the school, told The Northern Echo: “They’ve left us with a week to find out what’s going on. It’s the last week of term.

“We don’t know if we are going to have to apply for places - they’ve given us no details. Some parents had bought uniforms for next year already.

“They said that the school would likely be open another two years.

“I think the overall feeling of parents is that we’ve been kept in the dark or not properly consulted.

“The other school is three miles away. Some parents don’t drive or have children at two schools, it’s going to be a logistical nightmare for them.

“My daughter is going into Year 6 so I didn’t think that we had anything to worry about until we were told it is closing. You want your kids to go to a school where they’ll stay the whole time.

Our Lady Queen of Martyrs.Our Lady Queen of Martyrs. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

“Other parents started to move their kids out because they thought it would close before they reached Year 6. Now the school is saying that’s part of why it’s closing. I think the trust have been managing its decline.

“I’d offered to do some free marketing for them to get more kids in. We’d offered to do open days but, they turned us down and didn’t want our help.”

The school, run by the Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust says parents were consulted on its future through an “inclusive consultation process” including surveys and holding an online meeting.

A letter sent to parents and seen by The Northern Echo blamed falling pupil numbers and “serious financial implications” of small classes for the decision.

The letter, signed by the trust’s CEO Nick Hurn, said a “sudden decrease in pupil numbers over the last few weeks, leaving the current number of pupils on roll at 41”, was partly to blame.

Parents and pupils at the school.Parents and pupils at the school. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

Mum Rebecca Brown, whose two children attend the school, said: “I’m absolutely gutted. People might think I’m a bit dramatic, but I have cried. I’m so upset for all of the kids.

“I’m devastated that our lovely little school which has always felt like a family has been shut with less than two weeks’ notice. The trust want to hang their heads in shame.”

Meanwhile fellow mum Rachel-Mark McCormick added: “To say the decrease in numbers has brought it forward is shocking. Families felt like they had no option but to move their kids.

In a statement Mr Hurn told the Echo: “We fully appreciate this announcement, a matter of weeks before the new school year begins, was perhaps not expected to be made so quickly.

“We had not planned this to happen quite as quickly however, the extremely low admissions for Reception class at Our Lady’s in September 2024, at only 3 pupils, has been a factor.

“We completely understand this may well be disappointing for families with a connection to Our Lady Queen of Martyrs. However, we strongly believe this move prioritises the best educational interests of our pupils, staff, and community

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“We are committed to ensuring a smooth transition and will work closely with parents and carers to ensure readiness for the new academic year. We are dedicated to maintaining open communication with parents throughout this transition and ensuring the best possible outcomes for our children.”

He added the trust believes the move will provide improved educational opportunities, greater facilities, better use of staff expertise and help "foster a vibrant community".

The school had previously been awarded funds through the Government’s school rebuilding programme, but the school said that after discussions with the Department for Education it was decided land next to St Joseph’s in Ushaw Moor would be the only suitable location to build a new school.