Councillors to discuss changes to school admission arrangements

Councillors will be discussing a report outlining proposed changes to school admission arrangements in Brighton & Hove at a Special Council meeting on Thursday 27 February.

The recommendations in the report have been made following feedback from pupils, parents and carers, school staff and governors, and communities through an online consultation, as well as a range of consultation events between 6 December 2024 and 31 January 2025.

Aside from the addition of the free school meals priority in 2024, catchment and admission criteria has been left largely unchanged since 2007. These proposals aim to address falling pupil numbers, improve equality and fairness across the city’s schools and give greater equity of choice.

If agreed, the changes will be in place from September 2026.

Open admissions

Some catchment areas in Brighton & Hove currently only include one community secondary school, while others include two catchment schools. This means that young people in different areas have unequal options in terms of accessing secondary education within the city.

Significant concern was expressed about the consultation’s proposal to introduce an ‘open admissions’ criteria for oversubscribed schools for 20% of community school places, designed to address the existing imbalance.

Many however supported this proposal at various proposed percentages. Parents in single catchment areas described the impact that inequity of access to education has on their children and communities.

We have listened to the feedback in the consultation and are proposing to introduce an open admissions arrangement, by which up to 5% of places in each of the city’s community secondary schools will be open to pupils who live in single-school catchment areas. This will create more equity of access to education across the city.

When consultees were asked about the preferred percentage, 41% indicated support for a percentage of open admissions at 5% or higher. However, 40.2% of the people responding told us they didn’t agree with the introduction of an open admissions policy, although some of those also responded that it should be set at 5% or less.

We have heard the concerns raised by many parents about open admissions – including the consideration of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), and the transport implications of the proposals. Our revised proposals seek to address that important feedback.

We have also heard strong support from many residents for the principles of more equality in school choice, and the impact this would have on families and communities.

Published Admissions Numbers

In response to falling pupil numbers in the city, we are proposing to change the Published Admission Numbers (PANs) of a number of secondary schools.

Forecasts suggest that pupil numbers in Brighton & Hove will continue to fall. School budgets are determined by pupil numbers, with empty places impacting the resources, teaching and support available to pupils. Reducing PANs is the right thing to do to help protect the long-term future of the education offer in the city.

The proposals are to change the PANs at Longhill High School from 270 to 210, at Blatchington Mill School from 330 to 300, and at Dorothy Stringer School from 330 to 300.

Catchment area boundaries

We are proposing to amend the catchment area boundaries in the east of the city between Longhill High School and Dorothy Stringer and Varndean schools.

This would see the BN2 5 north area, above Manor Way and Manor Hill, brought within the Varndean/Dorothy Stringer catchment area, and the BN2 1 and BN2 5 (south) Kemptown area moving into the Longhill High School catchment area.

The recommendation will support a more equitable school system. It includes a commitment to maintain a sibling link for families affected by the proposed changes to catchment area boundaries.

Free school meals

The attainment gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils in Brighton & Hove is greater than the UK’s national attainment gap.

Last year, we introduced a new policy giving pupils eligible for free school meals priority when applying for secondary school in Brighton & Hove. The policy aims to improve educational inequality across the city.

In January 2025, 26.3% of secondary pupils in Brighton & Hove were eligible for free school meals, but the distribution of disadvantaged pupils in our secondary schools ranges from 19.1% to 49.1%. Six of the city’s 10 secondary schools have a below-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals.

A recommendation in this report aims to clarify this policy to continue the move to improve educational inequality across the city.

Looking to the future

Over the course of the consultation process, many responses indicated a willingness by residents to support the council in its goals of tackling disadvantage, raising attainment for all and contributing to the vision for the city’s school system.

As the report highlights the council is engaged in school improvement work and working in partnership with the city’s secondary schools to support their educational offer.

The council is actively exploring potential for greater collaboration between schools, including federation, and will also build on the interest generated by the engagement and consultation on school admissions with a call for evidence on the medium- and longer-term strategy for the city’s schooling system.

Equality of opportunity

Councillor Jacob Taylor, Deputy Leader of the Council, said: “We’re grateful to everyone who has shared their views on the school admissions proposals.

“Thousands of passionate, thoughtful and detailed responses were submitted through the consultation and we engaged with hundreds more residents at a series of public and targeted consultation events across the city.

“We’ve listened to your feedback, and the recommendations set out in this report have been shaped by the responses we received during the consultation stage.

“We are committed to making Brighton & Hove a fair and inclusive city, where no child or family is left behind. We are proposing a set of changes that we believe will make our school admission system fairer.

“We have a responsibility to protect our local education system, ensure the long-term sustainability of our schools and improve educational outcomes for all young people in Brighton & Hove.

“The recommendations outlined in this report offer several ways in which we can tackle inequality in the city and create greater equity of opportunity for our children.”