A parent at a 500-year-old primary school threatened with closure says she would be “shattered” to see it shut down.

Elzbieta Gontarska has a six-year-old daughter at St Mary’s Church of England Primary School in Stoke Newington, which is among four schools in the borough at risk of closure.

Hackney Council today (October 8) launched a public consultation on plans to reduce the number of primary schools it runs.

This would see St Dominic’s Catholic Primary School in Homerton shut outright, alongside St Mary’s, from August 31, 2025.

Pupils at two Stamford Hill schools - Oldhill Primary School and Sir Thomas Abney Primary School – would also be subject to a merger with another primary school, or full closure.

It comes after the council said falling pupil numbers were putting an unsustainable strain on school finances.

Elzbieta, a parent governor at the Stoke Newington school, said she was “disappointed and saddened” by the council’s decision.

She questioned why more schools had to close just months after the council shut four other Hackney primary schools.

She told the Hackney Gazette: “We thought there would be a little bit more time between what happened last year and this.

“Also, it seems like prediction – you can’t really estimate how many people will get pregnant tomorrow.

“We do feel that it’s a rush towards another closure without having a clear picture of the impact of the closures from last year.

“All of these changes will bring the result with time, not overnight.”

Hackney Council said that in May almost a quarter of all primary school places were empty, and that pupil numbers are projected to drop by a further 2,000 or more over the next decade.

Elzbieta added that St Mary’s, which is almost 500 years old, was well-loved in the area, in some cases having taught many generations of the same family.

“We love the school to bits – it’s an amazing place,” she explained. “We have such lovely teachers, and they feel like part of the family.

“We would be really shattered to see it closed down.”

The mum also claimed that many schools within walking distance of St Mary’s are oversubscribed, so it is likely her daughter would have to travel much further if it did close down.

The impact of closing the school on children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) also needed to be properly considered by the council, she added.

Hackney Council said that the nearest alternative C of E schools are St Matthias Primary School in Dalston and St John's Highbury Vale Primary School in Islington.

Both schools are around a 20 minute walk from St Mary’s.

The authority acknowledged that some primary schools were in “high demand”, but claimed there are many vacancies in “alternative high performing schools”.

It also committed to ensuring that there is no reduction in specialist SEND provision as a result of implementing the proposals.

The consultation on the plans will run for six weeks, before closing on November 19.