Guide to the proposed merger of Hazlewood Primary School and Greenfields Primary School
Introduction
North Tyneside’s population is changing. With birth rates falling steadily since 2018/19 there are now around 300 fewer children born each year. That’s the equivalent to 10 fewer classes annually. There are now too many schools for the number of children in North Tyneside.
Hazlewood Primary School and Greenfields Primary School are within half a mile of each other and neither school is full. There are another two schools in Newcastle close by.
Pupils at Hazlewood Primary School are being educated on a site which is not sustainable for the longer term due to structural problems with a large part of the main building.
Greenfields Primary School building can accommodate 525 pupils. There are approximately 200 pupils at the school in 2025/2026, and the number of surplus places (places not being filled by pupils) is increasing.
Greenfields Primary School building has the space to comfortably accommodate all pupils from Hazlewood Primary School, which for 2025/2026 is projected to be 256 pupils and decreasing each subsequent year as births in the area fall.
Hazlewood Primary School main building has significant structural issues with no long-term solution in place, despite lobbying from the Council for government funding support since February 2024.
In spring 2024 the Council spent £2.3m on a two-storey modern modular unit to accommodate pupils, which was installed in summer 2024.
In Spring 2025 the Council added reinforcement to the school hall and kitchen to return these areas to use. This fix has a lifespan of approximately five years.
Neither of these of these remedial solutions are viable, long-term solutions.
The Council estimates it could cost at least £7m to build a new school at Hazlewood. The cost of a new school is typically high, and usually paid for by the government, not local authorities. The Council does not have sufficient funds to pay for any new school in North Tyneside.
The Council has lobbied the Department for Education for funding on a regular basis from February 2024 to summer 2025. No long-term funding has been secured.
The Council must act to stabilise education in the area for all pupils now and in the future. It needs a plan to stop the on-going uncertainty for the Hazlewood community, which is creating instability for pupils and staff, despite the continued efforts of school leaders and the Council.
The consultation is looking at the proposal to:
- Merge Hazlewood Primary School with Greenfields Primary School
- Use the Greenfields Primary site to accommodate the merged school
It is hoped the merged school would have a new identity and new ethos, set by staff, pupils and the school community, to serve local children now and in the years to come.
To allow a merger to take place, the Council is proposing to close the buildings of Hazlewood Primary School. This would mean the school would stop admitting pupils to Reception from September 2026. There would be no changes this academic year. If the proposal moves to the next phase we would work with employers (school leadership and governing bodies) to agree a full timeline and we expect changes to be implemented by September 2027.
The consultation will commence on 2 October 2025 and end at noon on 13 November 2025. If no alternatives are found, the Council will move into the statutory consultation period with the outcome expected to be announced in January 2026.
There are similar proposals for schools in other areas of North Tyneside.
You may have some questions to ask, and this document will provide you with the background. There are more answers in the options and background data document and the Frequently Asked Questions on Our North Tyneside Voice. Please read this in full before submitting your consultation response.
Background – pupil numbers
Birth rates have been falling steadily since 2018/19. This means fewer pupils are entering schools. The new homes being built in North Tyneside will still not bring in enough children to fill all the schools. On average, each 100 homes brings an extra 32 pupils across all twelve year groups.
Birth rate is falling in the North West Planning Area (the part of North Tyneside that Hazlewood and Greenfields are in) and not all children born in the catchment areas of Hazlewood or Greenfields are choosing to attend Hazlewood or Greenfields.
As a result, both Hazlewood and Greenfields have surplus places (the number of spaces not being filled). Hazlewood has 13% surplus places, and Greenfields has 7% surplus places. The graphs below show how this is projected to get worse.
These figures are based on a ‘Published Admission Number’ which is the number of pupils school leaders decide the school will admit. A school and its Governing Body can set this number below the physical capacity of the school to structure staffing and resources.
Typically, the physical capacity of a school is higher. This is the case at Greenfields where the building can accommodate 525 pupils.
All data in the table below relates to the January 2025 census and refers to pupils living in North Tyneside and attending a North Tyneside school.
Background – Hazlewood building condition
In February 2024, Hazlewood Primary School suffered significant structural failings. This was with a construction method used at the time the school was built known as ‘Block and Beam’ construction. Even now a large part of the main building remains closed.
Between February 2024 and summer 2025, the Council has been meeting with Department of Education senior officers in education, engineering and finance. It has lobbied the previous government and current government with the consistent view of getting help with short-term costs (such as paying for the marquee at Hazlewood) and funding for a longer-term solution.
A range of options have been put forward to the Department for Education which included options for remediation and a rebuild of the school.
A proposal to rebuild the school would have followed full guidance and criteria. This means an assessment of pupil numbers and birth rates would have been completed, which would include the latest birth rates for North Tyneside and the local planning area (for Hazlewood this is the North West Planning Area). These birth rates confirmed a fall for the fifth year in a row (October 2024), in line with the national pattern. The latest available data (up to spring 2025) is showing a similar downwards trend.
The births between September 2024 and March 2025 are consistent with the same low period last year. The first two terms (Autumn and Spring) saw only 7 more births in 2024/25 compared to 2023/24 so it is safe to assume the birth rate will be very similar to last year.
These falling pupil numbers, alongside Hazlewood’s proximity to Greenfields, which has the capacity to accommodate pupils from both schools, would have an impact on the Department for Education’s decision to fund a new school for the area.
It is the Council’s belief that it would not be deemed good use of taxpayer’s money to fund a new school building for Hazlewood when Greenfields site is so close and big enough for both school communities.
What is the rationale for the decision to merge on the Greenfields Site?
The Council is proposing to merge Hazlewood Primary School and Greenfields Primary School. This means that pupils who currently attend Hazlewood Primary School would be educated at the existing Greenfields Primary School site.
Greenfields Primary School is based on an extensive site which is too big for the number of pupils it admits each year. The school was built for two and a half forms of entry. One form of entry is typically a class of around 30 pupils, so two and a half forms of entry would accommodate 75 pupils per year. This means the site could meet the needs of combined pupils from both schools.
Financially, Hazlewood Primary School is predicting to be in deficit by 2028. At the same time, Greenfields is in a surplus financial position which will continue in 2028. The financial information is from the school’s budget forecasts.
Which other options have been considered?
You can read more about the options considered in the options and background data on the Have Your Say website.
It is important to note that even with investment from the Department for Education, Hazlewood Primary School site would not be big enough to provide accommodation for combined pupils from both schools.
In light of these factors, it is proposed that the best solution would be to merge the two schools on the Greenfields Primary School site.
What happens next?
Any proposal for school reorganisation must be carried out in accordance with Department for Education (DfE) statutory guidance.
The Council cannot take a decision to merge a school without having held a consultation on the proposal, which will include seeking the views of members of the public. The first stage of consultation will be informal and opens on 2 October 2025.
The detail below sets out the expected timescales for the process:
Consultation – 2 October to 13 November 2025
The initial consultation will take place for six weeks. This will include the publication of consultation material and parental information sessions.
Once the consultation closes, the Council will analyse the responses.
Statutory Public Notice and Representation Period – November to December 2025
Following a thorough analysis of consultation responses, and if appropriate, a delegated decision will be required to publish a statutory notice. As part of the analysis of consultation responses, all options not previously explored will be considered and necessary due diligence undertaken.
If an alternative viable option is presented, the timeline would need to be reviewed, and we would taken the necessary time to evaluate. If no viable alternative options are put forward the Council will decide to proceed with this proposal. At this stage, statutory notices would be published which commences a Statutory Representation Period. This is where any person or organisation can submit comments to the Council within a four-week period.
Decision Making – January 2026
Once the representation period closes, the Council’s cabinet would consider responses to the statutory notice and make the final decision on whether to agree the proposal or not.
Taking part in the consultation
We are clear that no decision has been made. The public consultation runs until noon on 13 November 2025. We encourage you to take part in the online consultation on Our North Tyneside Voice. A range of Frequently Asked Questions are available on the site, please read these before completing the survey.
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