Hampshire County Council has proposed closing Smannell and Enham Church of England Primary School next year and recently ran a non-statutory public consultation to gather feedback on the proposal. It follows a decline in pupil numbers with just 21 children on roll at the school as of 10 November 2025, despite an overall capacity for 105 pupils. This is the lowest number of children attending any Hampshire school and reflects a national trend of falling birth rates over recent years.
At an upcoming Decision Day on Wednesday, 19 November, Councillor Roz Chadd, the County Council’s Cabinet Lead Member for Children’s Services, will consider feedback from the initial public consultation alongside the recommendation to now proceed with a statutory consultation.
Smannell and Enham is a primary school for pupils aged four to 11, around one mile northeast of Andover. Given the small number of pupils now attending the school, children of mixed ages are taught together across just two classes. Despite the school's work to strengthen its approach to teaching the National Curriculum, this structure can make it more complex to deliver the curriculum in a way that meets the needs of all pupils.
Having been judged as ‘Inadequate’ by Ofsted in May 2024, the school has since been subject to an Academy Order, which is issued by the Government and instructs a school to convert to an academy. Despite ongoing efforts from the County Council, the Diocese of Winchester and the Department for Education, the school’s challenges have meant it has not been possible to find an academy sponsor to date. Other options such as federation with another school, which sees two or more schools operate under the same governing body, cannot be considered while the academy order remains in place.
Like many small schools, Smannell and Enham has found it difficult to recruit and retain permanent staff. While school staff have worked hard to provide stability and consistency for pupils, this has resulted in some children experiencing staff changes within the last academic year. Various County Council teams including the Hampshire Improvement and Advisory Service for schools (HIAS) have continued to provide strategic and operational support to the school throughout these challenges. However, the impact of this work has been limited due to staff changes in the school.
As school budgets are primarily based on the number of pupils on roll, the school faces additional pressures on its finances. As such, there are concerns that the school cannot be sustained financially or without impacting the quality of its educational provision further.
Should Councillor Chadd agree to a statutory consultation, a public notice would be published on the County Council’s website allowing parents, the local community and others with an interest in the school to give their views on the proposal. The County Council would write directly to parents and school staff to confirm details of the consultation. A final decision would then be taken at a further Decision Day meeting before the end of this year.
Should the school ultimately close, this would happen on 27 March 2026 – delayed from an original proposed date of 13 February 2026. In this situation, the County Council would work with schools in the area to ensure there is other available local provision for children. The authority’s Admissions Team would be able to advise parents and support them with any queries about making in-year applications to other schools. Schools would then process any applications in line with statutory processes.