The Church of England will this week host a conference to brainstorm ways of supporting small, rural schools whilst ensuring they continue to offer the best education, according to an article in The Sunday Times.

More than a third of the Church of England’s schools now have fewer than 210 pupils, with 2,000 schools fighting to stay open. In recent months some parents have accused the church of wanting to close some rural schools in order to sell the land for development.

But the Church of England say the closures are a result of declining pupil numbers, expensive building maintenance costs and the difficulty of recruiting teachers who are reluctant to live in rural areas.

Full article:

→ The Times - Church calls summit to save rural schools