Rodmell Primary to close

The news came 10 months after East Sussex County Council launched a consultation into closing both Rodmell and Pells Primary Schools, claiming both had struggled to attract enough children and to stay financially stable.

After months of fighting the proposal, Rodmell's board of governors met on Tuesday (January 17) and unanimously voted that the future of the school was no longer viable and it would close in July 2018.

The county council had given the school until May to submit a firm proposal for staying open but the governors felt that delaying the decision until then was "only going to cause distress to the pupils and families at the school".

In a statement, chair of governors the Rev Geoff Daw and parent governor Rob Webber said: "We will be offering our full support to parents as they try to find places for their children and hope that East Sussex County Council will do the same.

"We would like to thank the parents and pupils for the unbelievable support and hard work they have given the school and the loyalty they have shown in staying for the fight to save the school and deeply regret that we were unable to save it."

The fight to stay open saw parents and children march through the streets of Lewes in April, brandishing hand-made signs calling for the county council to stop closing small schools.

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