Derbyshire school to close after 100 years

Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet made the call to close Wirksworth Infant School, in Harrison Drive, in a meeting on Thursday (November 17).

A consultation over the school’s future took place in September, after it was revealed it was likely to have a deficit of £128,130 by 2025 if it continued as it was.

Deputy leader Councillor Simon Spencer, who attended the school as a boy, said it was a ‘sad day’ to see it close.

Wirksworth is home to two infant schools, both of which have a capacity for 60 pupils, totalling 120 pupils.

Wirksworth Infant School in Harrison Drive currently has 31 pupils while Wirksworth Church of England Infant School in Greenway Croft has 47 pupils and both are in properties which were built before 1919.

Both schools, rated Good by Ofsted in 2012, are overseen by the Wirksworth Federation of Infant Schools.

Youngsters will be moved to the nearby Wirksworth Church of England Infant School, in Greenway Croft, where the building is in better condition.

The council says staff from the Harrison Drive site would be relocated to the Greenway Croft school with no redundancies anticipated.