Plan to close school with no pupils

Plans to close a school with no pupils have been consulted on. Ravenstonedale Endowed School in Cumbria has had no children since September. A head teacher and five part-time staff are still employed. The proposals will be voted on in March and, if approved, the school will close in April.
Pupil numbers have dropped from 65 in 2000 to 26 in September last year, falling to zero by the beginning of the current academic year.
Cumbria County Council said there was "little prospect" of the school recovering in the "foreseeable future". The nearest alternative school is just under five miles (8km) away in Kirkby Stephen.