Parents of Hazlewood Community Primary School in Wideopen are celebrating after the School Adjudicator rejected North Tyneside Council's plans to close the school and merge it with Greenfields Community Primary School by August 2028. The decision, announced on June 30, 2026, has been met with relief and joy by the school community, which had campaigned vigorously against the closure since the public consultation opened in October 2025.
Community Celebration
Sarah Stokoe, 37, an ex-pupil of the school with one son in attendance, said: "I think it has taken a while to sink in, we have been on a rollercoaster." She added: "What has been proven is we have such a strong community; if it's money we need, it is demolition, the community will always come together and do what we need to do. We will stay together here as a Hazlewood community."
Kathryn Graham, 48, who has a son in Year 6, said: "I am over the moon. I have never had a fault with the school; it has been amazing. Everyone has come together, meetings, consultations, and spoken up." Bethany Henderson, 33, whose son attends the school, added: "I am pleased he gets to sit here until he gets to leave. I have had no problems with the school, and my daughter, now in secondary school, loved it."
Local Support
Simon Pearce, 56, picking up his niece and nephews, said: "It is great because it stops the kids going anywhere else, it’s right on your doorstep. My niece would have been lucky because she leaves next year, but it is still great news." Dan Ravell, 37, who has three children attending, praised the staff: "Every single teacher in this school is fantastic, it is personal, it’s more like a family. It’s not ‘throw the kids in and pick them up’. Mr Bommel is the best headteacher, he was adamant this place was not closing, and he did everything to prove it."
Council's Reasons for Proposed Closure
The council had cited declining birth rates—equivalent to 300 fewer births a year since 2018/19 in North Tyneside—as a major factor. Additionally, the school has been affected by weak, brittle concrete used in its construction, with a rebuild estimated at £7 million. Hazlewood is one of several schools in North Tyneside that have faced closure recently. In October 2025, the council proposed merging six primary schools and closing Monkseaton Middle School, though the latter plan was abandoned in March 2026. Plans to close and merge Langley First School with Appletree Gardens First School in Whitley Bay were paused to allow Langley to explore academisation.
Headteacher's Response
Headteacher Stephane Bommel wrote to parents: "Today is a day to celebrate. It is a reminder of what can be achieved when a community comes together with a shared purpose. I could not be prouder to be Headteacher of such an extraordinary school. Thank you for every letter you wrote, every meeting you attended, every conversation you had, and every message of support you shared. Your commitment, resilience and belief in Hazlewood have made a real difference."
Council's Next Steps
Rebecca Wall, Director of Children, Young People and Learning at North Tyneside Council, said: "We appreciate that this has been a sensitive and difficult process for the Hazlewood school community. While the adjudicator did not approve the proposal, his letter does say that Hazlewood’s current buildings should not be used indefinitely, and that in the absence of a source of capital funding, Hazlewood should close. He adds that Greenfields has capacity to accommodate displaced pupils and that future legislation will give the Authority a route to bring forward a new proposal to merge the two schools. We will continue to support and communicate with the school’s leadership while we review the adjudicator’s letter and consider next steps. We are not able to comment further at this stage."
