An island primary school has just one pupil registered so far to join its reception class in September, an Isle of Man Newspapers investigation has established.

Dhoon School in Maughold is one of five primaries that have 10 or fewer new starters registered for the 2017-18 school year.

But education chiefs insist no school is at risk of closure - despite the recent census showing the island’s population has fallen since 2011.

And they have rejected the idea of scrapping the catchment area policy, maintaining that this would not be the answer to empty classes - and could actually lead to schools shutting.

Work, however, is under way to look at revising catchments in some areas.

Figures released in the House of Keys last week indicate that nine primary schools and one secondary school - Ballakermeen - are currently close to capacity or oversubscribed, although the figures don’t include mobile classrooms.

But many schools are significantly under capacity, such as Bunscoill Rhumsaa in Ramsey, which has room for almost 200 additional pupils.

Meanwhile, Ballakermeen High School is the only secondary school currently to be oversubscribed, with a current roll of 1,500 projected to rise by another 58 students in September against a permanent capacity of 1,370.

The other four state high schools have all seen falling rolls.

Andrew Shipley, legal and administration manager for the DEC, confirmed that one pupil has registered so far for reception at Dhoon School. Mixed year classes mean there is no chance of one child being taught alone.

Ballaugh Primary has just nine pupils registered for reception; Foxdale and Jurby both have 10 and St Thomas’s CE has eight.

But Mr Shipley said the projected figures could change as some parents may wait until the summer holidays before registering their child for their new school.

And he insisted: ’We have no plans to close any school in the foreseeable future.’

Mr Shipley explained that government has plans to grow the population, and provision of schools was an important part of that policy.

One area with a catchment issue is Onchan, where Ashley Hill’s roll is almost 100 under capacity, while Onchan Primary was predicted to be 32 over-capacity in September.

The education department has written to all parents for the 2017 intake, asking if any of them would be prepared to send their children to Ashley Hill instead.

Mr Shipley said the issue could be the result of the changing nature of the area, with younger families able to afford homes in the Onchan primary catchment in contrast to perhaps more expensive housing in Ashley Hill.

But there are other areas with catchment issues, as the figures show. For instance, Scoill yn Jubilee is predicted to be 73 students above capacity in September while Henry Bloom Noble is projected to be 62 under.

In the west of the island. Peel Clothworkers is projected to be 44 over-capacity, while St John’s, Michael and Foxdale all have spare places in their classrooms.

Mr Shipley declined to say which catchment areas may be altered, and pointed out that any changes would need CoMin and Tynwald approval.

He said: ’We are looking at areas where schools are oversubscribed and those where there are falling rolls. But work is at a very early stage.’

In the Keys, Garff MHK and Children’s Champion Daphne Caine asked whether open catchment for Onchan schools and other areas where primary schools are under capacity was being considered.

School improvement adviser Caroline Savin believes this is not the answer. She said: ’Open catchment makes it hard to manage our resources.

’Parents will pick up the idea that one school is better than another. We want to have good schools right across the island. Schools are very much rooted in their communities and we wouldn’t want that to change.’

Mr Shipley said that far from preventing school closures, open catchment could have the opposite effect if parents chose not to send their children to those perceived as under-performing.

Education chiefs have previously said they will not introduce school league tables - insisting that ranking performance in this way is misleading and unfair.