Parents have launched a petition to save La Sainte Union Catholic school in Camden after the council named it as one of four schools facing possible closure.
The Change.org petition, started by parent Andreia Moreira, gathered around 400 signatures in its first two days as families rallied to defend the Highgate Road secondary school.
Camden Council’s cabinet is due to decide on October 20 whether to open formal consultation on closing the school, alongside three primaries in the borough.
Key details
- School: La Sainte Union Catholic School, Highgate Road, Camden
- Petition: Change.org, started by parent Andreia Moreira, around 400 signatures in two days
- Decision date: Camden cabinet to decide on October 20 whether to consult on closure
- Other schools: St Alban’s CE Primary (Holborn), St Patrick’s Catholic Primary (Kentish Town), St Joseph’s Catholic Primary (Holborn)
- Subscriptions: 28 first-choice applications for Year 7, the lowest of Camden’s secondaries
Four schools in the frame
La Sainte Union is one of four Camden schools the council says could face closure as it grapples with a sharp fall in pupil numbers across the borough.
The others are St Alban’s Church of England Primary in Holborn, St Patrick’s Catholic Primary in Kentish Town and St Joseph’s Catholic Primary in Holborn — meaning three of the four are faith schools.
If the cabinet agrees on October 20, formal consultation will begin on the future of each school, with closure among the options on the table.
Why the council says action is needed
Camden, like many London boroughs, is dealing with falling pupil numbers. The council points to a combination of falling birth rates, high housing costs and families leaving the capital for cheaper areas.
School funding in England is largely driven by pupil numbers, so schools with empty places face shrinking budgets. That can mean staff cuts, narrower subject choices and, in the most serious cases, questions about whether a school remains viable.
La Sainte Union is the least subscribed secondary in the borough, with just 28 first-choice applications for Year 7 places — a figure that underlines the scale of the challenge facing the school.
The petition
Andreia Moreira set up the Change.org petition to give parents and former pupils a voice in the debate. Within two days it had attracted around 400 signatures, with supporters praising the school’s community and its Catholic ethos.
Petitions of this kind do not decide the outcome, but they can demonstrate the strength of feeling among families — something councils and dioceses often weigh when considering closures.
For many parents, the prospect of losing a local Catholic secondary means longer journeys, less choice and the break-up of a school community built up over generations.
What happens next
On October 20, Camden’s cabinet will vote on whether to launch formal consultation on the future of the four schools. Consultation does not mean closure is a foregone conclusion — but it is the legal step that must happen before any school can be shut.
If consultation goes ahead, parents, staff, pupils and the wider community will be invited to have their say, alongside the Catholic diocese and the Church of England where faith schools are concerned.
A final decision would then come back to the cabinet, likely after months of evidence-gathering and debate.
Camden’s school squeeze
The borough has been warning for some time that falling pupil numbers could force difficult decisions, and faith schools are prominent among those facing consultation.
Whatever the cabinet decides on October 20, the petition shows that families at La Sainte Union intend to fight for their school’s future.
