Two schools are planning to slash their intake as a falling birth rate across a Kent town is blamed for a slump in the number of Reception-age children.

Reculver Primary, in Hillborough, Herne Bay, has announced it is considering reducing the number of pupils joining at the age of four from 75 to 60.

Meanwhile, Herne Bay Infant School wants to lower its Reception intake from 120 children to 90 in two years’ time.

Bosses at Reculver have launched a consultation into the proposed move, which they hope will come into force in September 2021.

In a letter co-signed by head teacher Jenny Ashley-Jones and chair of governors Alan Rogers, they say the current arrangement means mixed-age classes are needed across the school.

They add: “With fluctuating numbers, this is often difficult to organise.

“Herne Bay and the surrounding districts have seen a recent decrease in the birth rate, which has led to a higher number of surplus places in many of the schools across the district.

“Reculver School currently has 54 empty places within the school. Data from the local authority shows that numbers are not projected to significantly rise in the future.”

In a missive sent to parents of children at Herne Bay Infants and Seashells Nursery, governors Sophie Gollop and Kate Amos revealed Kent County Council has opened a consultation into the changes.

They say the school currently has 33 empty places and that its Reception classes have not been full for the last three years.

Statistics provided by KCC show that, in all, primary schools across Herne Bay failed to fill one in 10 Reception places last year. The total number of unfilled places is expected to peak at 53 in September 2020.

At Reculver, which was rated outstanding by Ofsted last year, 16 of its 75 places were not filled at the start of this academic year.

In their letter, Ms Ashley-Jones and Mr Rogers continued: “Our projections show that there will be sufficient places available for local children if the published admission number (Pan) for this school is reduced.

“There are local plans for more housing to be built in the Hillborough and Herne Bay area.

“However, there is also school provision planned as part of these planning applications.

“The small reduction in numbers at Reculver School would therefore not impact the provision for adequate school placements.”

Both schools insist none of their current pupils will be affected by the plans. They also believe the cuts will increase the finances they will receive from central government.

Ms Ashley-Jones estimates that each vacancy loses Reculver about £3,200 in funding.

“If there are too many vacancies in our schools it means that we will not receive the maximum revenue possible,” the letter continues.

“At Reculver School, the fluctuation in pupil numbers and the spaces within the school is making it difficult to plan for class organisation and to financially plan the future.

“Therefore we are proposing to reduce the number of available places to enable the school to operate more efficiently and cost effectively.”

Briary Primary School launched a consultation into plans to lower its Reception-age intake from 60 to 30 towards the end of 2017 - but the proposals were later scrapped.

Reculver’s governing body is expected to decide whether to refer the proposed reduction to the Department for Education for approval in January.

It is urging parents, teachers and anyone else interested to submit their responses to consultation@reculver.kent.sch.uk before the consultation closes on November 15.

Herne Bay Infants’ will run until December 16. Responses should be made to kentonlineadmissions@kent.gov.uk.

Read more: All the latest news from Herne Bay