A record 124 primary schools closed their doors in the Netherlands last year, forcing almost 8,200 children to find a new school, according to education ministry figures.

The main reason for the closures is shrinking populations in rural areas, the ministry’s DUO education service said. Most schools were lost in Gelderland and Noord-Holland provinces.

Just nine new schools opened.

Last month the AD said around one in four Dutch towns and villages has no school as falling pupil numbers force rural school closures. There are 2,400 official towns and villages in the Netherlands, of which 630 no longer have a school.