Councillors have voted to move ahead with proposals to close 2 single form entry primary schools in the city, and reduce of the number of pupils joining 6 other primary schools from September 2025.
In response to falling pupil numbers in the city, councillors at the Children, Families & Schools Committee on 22 January agreed to publish ‘Statutory Notices’ on the proposed closure of St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School in central Brighton, and St Peter’s Community Primary and Nursery School in Portslade.
The changes to the number of pupils joining 6 primary schools in reception each year, known as Published Admission Numbers (PANs), will start from September 2025.
Ensuring quality of education across the city’s schools
Councillor Jacob Taylor, co-chair of the council’s Children, Families and School’s Committee, said: “I’d like to thank everyone who made representations at the committee. The passion felt for the schools was clear and we do understand these are upsetting decisions for our school communities. These are tough choices and we are sorry to have to make them.
“However, reducing the number of empty school places is the right thing to do.
“With more than a fifth of primary school places currently empty, more and more of our schools are finding themselves in extreme financial difficulty, without the resources needed to provide the support to children they would want to.
“Forecasts show pupil numbers will continue to fall. As a responsible council, we need to act now to secure the long-term future of the city’s schools.
“The notices on the proposed closures are the next stage in the statutory process, with the final decision made by councillors later in the spring. We will continue to work very closely with headteachers and governing boards to manage the process.
“Our priority now is to put extra measures in place to support the children affected to move to new schools, and keep the impact on them, their families and the wider school community to an absolute minimum.”
Statutory notices on proposed closures
Publication of the statutory notices is the next stage in the statutory process in the proposals to close both schools at the end of the current school year.
St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School and St Peter’s Community Primary and Nursery School are the 2 primary schools with the lowest number of pupils in the city.
The published notices mark the start of a 4 week representation period. All interested parties can follow the links below to view the notices and make any further comments on the proposals. The Statutory Notice period ends at 5pm on Tuesday 20 February.
Following the end of the representation period, the final recommendations on the closures will go back to the Children, Families & Schools Committee on 29 February 2024 for further consideration before the final decision on the proposals is made by councillors at a Special Full Council on 4 March 2024.
Reduction in reception places from September 2025
Following the committee decisions, admission numbers at the following schools will be reduced from September 2025:
- Brunswick Primary School (reduced by 30 places)
- Goldstone Primary School (30 places)
- Patcham Infant School (30 places)
- Saltdean Primary School (30 places)
- Stanford Infant School (30 places)
- St Luke’s Primary School (30 places)
Following feedback from the consultations, proposals to reduce Queen’s Park Primary School by 30 places, and Rudyard Kipling Primary School and Woodingdean Primary School by 15 places were withdrawn.
Action needed to reduce school places
With more than a fifth of primary school places in the city currently empty, reductions in school places are needed to address the fall in pupil numbers across the city.
This has a devastating impact on our schools and the resources, teaching and support available to pupils. Reducing the number of school places is required to ensure future standards of the wider education offer in the city.
If the proposed school closures go ahead, the total number of reception year primary school places in the city will reduce from the current 2,610 to 2,550 in the 24/25 academic year, and 2,370 in 25/26.
Forecasts show there’s likely to be 1,970 reception year children requiring a school place in 2025, 1953 in 2026 and 1,787 in 2027.
More information