A primary school that has fewer than half its places filled will officially shut this summer.

Following a formal consultation, Islington Council’s executive made the decision last month that Blessed Sacrament RC Primary School will close on July 31.

The council said that, faced with a falling birth rate and people moving out of the borough, it had no choice but to close the school.

Blessed Sacrament, which is located in Boadicea Street, has just six pupils in its reception class, but space for 30 children.

The undersubscribed primary saw an 18 per cent drop in numbers this year and has the lowest pupil count in the borough, with 76 out of a possible 210.

The council says that for every unused pupil place in Islington, the school will miss out on an average of £5,500 a year.

This means that despite its ‘good’ rating from education watchdog Ofsted, the council said it had few options but to press ahead with closure, as the school is already only one-form entry.

During a formal consultation to the plans, the council received five written responses, with two actively opposing the proposals, including the Diocese of Westminster.

The diocese said the school has a balanced budget and is not projecting a financial deficit in its three-year budget forecast.

One respondent supported the proposals, while a further two raised specific concerns about the plans regarding the long-term future of the school building and the impact on the existing Year 5 cohort.

Blessed Sacrament previously told Islington Gazette that it was applying to become an academy in an effort to “secure the school’s future and prevent…closure”.

The school said it has been working in partnership with Cardinal Hume Academies Trust (CHAT).

Blessed Sacrament has not yet responded to a request for an update on this application.

Council plans to close an undersubscribed primary school have been thwarted in the past by academisation.

Last summer, Pooles Park Primary School in Finsbury Park, announced it was to be taken over by an academy trust, just days after councillors had voted to close it.

This effectively saved it from closure, and, according to the council, meant another school in the area would have to shut.

The authority has since proposed to shut Montem Primary School through a merger with Duncombe Primary School.

A formal consultation on the proposals closed on March 26, and a decision is expected by the council’s executive next Thursday (April 18).

If approved, Montem Primary School would formally close on August 31.