More than one in six Hackney primary school places went unfilled this autumn despite the closure of four schools, as the borough deals with falling student numbers.
A freedom of information request has revealed that 18% of total primary school places were vacant as of November 2025. Nearly 500 reception places were unfilled.
Hackney Council closed four schools and merged two in September 2025, which likely contributed a small improvement from previous years; 21% of reception places were unfilled in May 2024 compared to 19% in November 2025.
The new figures remain well above Hackney Council’s target of 5-10%.
Unfilled places are concerning because schools receive government funding based on the number of pupils. This means schools with high numbers of unfilled places effectively have reduced budgets.
“Many schools have already told us that this is affecting their ability to fully support their pupils,” said Hackney Council in an October press release.
Schools across the country have experienced falling student numbers in recent years, but the drop has been most pronounced in the capital. Recent research published by the Institute for Government (IFG) shows that London’s primary schools have lost the equivalent of 2,000 classes since 2018-19.
The housing crisis, cost of living, and the Covid pandemic have been blamed for the reduction of families with young children in London.
Compared to the rest of London, Hackney has experienced one of the largest reductions in primary school students: only four councils have lost more (Camden, Southwark, Lambeth, and Westminster).
“As the population bulge moves through the system, primary schools have inevitably been the first to experience declines,” the IFG report said.
Picture credit: Educators.co.uk
Jake is a student journalist studying for an MA at City St George's.