Primary schools in Britain are beginning to close 

The playground at Randal Cremer primary school in Hackney used to be boisterous. Now it feels like a “ghost town”, according to Jo Riley, the head teacher. Just 120 pupils play in an area made for three times that number. The school will close its gates for good later this year because it cannot attract enough children. Some parents have already moved their nippers elsewhere in anticipation of that day.

Randal Cremer is one of four primary schools in Hackney that will shut or be merged due to low demand. Councils in other inner London boroughs, and a handful of other places, have announced similar plans. This is partly a familiar story of young families being priced out of certain areas by unaffordable housing. But shrinking school rolls are also an early symptom of a much deeper demographic trend.