Norfolk schools set to be put up for sale by county council.

Two former schools are set to be put up for sale by executives at Norfolk County Council.

The facilities which used to house Cantley Primary School and Ten Mile Bank Riverside Academy in Downham Market, are next week likely to be declared surplus to the council’s requirements.

Officers suggest that the Conservative-controlled cabinet at County Hall sell the buildings on the open market, either through auction or tender.

Cantley Primary School amalgamated with Freethorpe Primary School in September because its student population declined.

The school, located on Cantley’s School Lane, received no applications for the September 2025 reception intake, and the amalgamation was approved despite parental resistance.

Officers will inform the cabinet that the council no longer requires the 1.14-acre site for any other reason.

The former Ten Mile Bank Riverside Academy in Downham Market closed on September 24 after merging with Hilgay Riverside Academy.

The former Ten Mile Bank Riverside Academy (Image: Archant 2017)

The council is prepared to sell the site, which is slightly more than an acre in size, as well as the 1.5-acre playing field to the parish council.

The cabinet will make a decision when it meets on Monday, December 1. As the county’s student population declines, additional school mergers and closures are inevitable in the coming months.

Norfolk County Council officials have warned that a decrease in the birth rate may force certain schools to dissolve, consolidate, rethink admission numbers and catchment regions, or become part of larger multi-academy trusts in order to remain sustainable.

The number of pupils in Norfolk’s education system is predicted to decrease from roughly 10,000 in the present school year to less than 7,000 in the 2027 reception intake.

Because school financing is directly related to student enrolment, the decrease will have a severe impact on finances, jeopardising the viability of some.

While the county council does not have direct responsibility for all schools, it has been consulting with school administrators to plan for drop-off.

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