Councillors vote on 12 November on publishing formal notice to close Kew Riverside Primary School in August 2027. Parents have offered a rescue plan.
Richmond Council officers want to take the next formal step towards closing Kew Riverside Primary School. The proposed closing date is 31 August 2027.
The Education and Children’s Services Committee will be asked on Thursday 12 November to approve publishing statutory notices of the closure. A final decision would follow in April 2027.
The recommendation is in the committee report, published ahead of the meeting. Officers reached it after a consultation that ended on 16 October. They describe the response as “almost total opposition”.
Why the council wants to close it
The council says the case is about numbers and money, not quality. Its papers say the proposal is “in no way a reflection of any shortcomings” in teaching or leadership.
Pupil numbers have fallen every year since 2021. These figures are from Appendix 2 to the report:
- 87 pupils were on roll at the autumn 2025 census, down from 145 in 2021/22.
- 84 pupils are forecast for this school year. The building has room for 210.
- 6 families put the school as their first choice for reception in 2026. Nine places were offered.
- Kew Riverside takes 13% of the pupils in the Kew planning area. Darell Primary takes 26% and The King’s Primary School 61%.
The school’s budget is the other half of the case. The school ended March 2026 with £231,685 in reserves. The council’s consultation summary says the school’s own three-year plan then shows:
| Year | In-year deficit | Where it leaves the school |
|---|---|---|
| 2026/27 | £212,417 | About £19,268 left in reserves |
| 2027/28 | £215,177 | £195,909 in deficit |
| 2028/29 | £261,792 | £457,702 in deficit |
Projected further, the council says the deficit would reach £917,000 by 2030/31. A separate table in Appendix 2 gives a slightly different year-end balance for March 2026, £217,059.
When a maintained school closes, the council takes on its deficit. The papers say any deficit comes out of the schools grant shared by every maintained school in the borough.
What happens to the pupils and staff
Every pupil would be guaranteed a place at Darell Primary School in Kew. Darell has 169 pupils and room for 420, according to the papers. Officers say they would plan transitions for each child with special educational needs, and would review every education, health and care plan before a move.
All staff posts at Kew Riverside would be at risk of redundancy from 31 August 2027. The council says it would try to redeploy staff to other schools in the borough.
The building is held under a private finance initiative (PFI) contract that runs to 2032. The council would keep paying for it after a closure unless it finds another use. It says it is “exploring alternative educational or community uses for the site”. A Bright Horizons nursery shares the site.
The parents’ rescue plan
A parent-led group, Save Kew Riverside, sent the council a Sustainable Financial Recovery Plan in October. It was drawn up with the governing body. The plan, as summarised in Appendix 5, rests on three things:
- £117,000 a year in savings by 2029/30. Staffing would fall from 13.6 to 12.3 full-time posts, keeping every class teacher and a full-time head.
- £106,000 a year in new income by 2029/30. A parent group would raise it through a charity, from crowdfunding, regular giving, corporate partners, grants and lettings.
- 15 more pupils. The roll would grow from 84 to 99 by 2029/30 through marketing and open days.
On the plan’s own model, the yearly gap would shrink from £333,000 to £14,000 in 2029/30. The accumulated deficit would peak at £106,000 by March 2030 and then be repaid.
Officers do not accept it. They call the fundraising target “optimistic” and say relying on donations to meet running costs “carries a high risk of shortfall”. They also doubt the school can recruit more pupils while numbers fall across the borough.
What the governors say
The governing body wants the proposal withdrawn and two years, to July 2029, to recover. It argues the consultation was “legally unfair” and that the council had already made up its mind. It also argues that public talk of closure is itself driving families away.
The governors point to the school’s results. Over three years, 71% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, against 61% nationally. For disadvantaged pupils the figures were 55% against 46%.
The council’s response says the consultation was “genuinely open” and that no decision has been made.
Ofsted inspected the school in July 2026. The school’s website shows the result: “strong standard” for early years, inclusion, and personal development and wellbeing, and “expected standard” for achievement, curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance. The school is at 37 Courtlands Avenue, TW9 4EU.
A petition headed Keep Kew Riverside Primary School open is also on the agenda. It asks the council to publish the full evidence behind the proposal.
Why this is happening across the borough
Kew Riverside is one of three schools facing a change of structure. The same report proposes merging Hampton Wick Infant and Nursery School with St John the Baptist CE Junior School into one primary from September 2027.
Most schools are instead cutting their intake numbers. The report says these cuts and the two proposals would remove 4,080 school places in total. Without them the borough would have 5,267 empty places by 2031/32. With them it expects 1,187, or 6.5% of capacity.
What it means for you
- Nothing is decided yet. The committee meets at 7pm on Thursday 12 November. The agenda and papers are online, and council meetings are webcast at richmond.public-i.tv.
- If the committee agrees, statutory notices are published. A representation period of at least four weeks follows, and anyone can respond.
- A final decision would come back to the committee in April 2027.
- Parents at the school keep their place for now. A guaranteed place at Darell Primary would apply only if the closure is approved.
- Planning ahead? Richmond school term dates are on our school term dates page.
We will report the committee’s decision after the meeting on 12 November.
Have your say