Sussex school closure petitions trigger council debate

Parents and teachers at St Peter's Community Primary School say the closure could create huge disruption to pupils

Parents fighting the proposed closure of two schools have gathered enough support to trigger a council debate.

The proposed closures are at St Peter's Community Primary School in Portslade and St Bartholomew's Church of England Primary School in Brighton.

Both schools' petitions passed the threshold of 1,250 signatures to trigger the Brighton & Hove City Council debate.

The St Bartholomew's petition had 1,887 signatures and St Peter's had 1,676.

Brighton & Hove City Council has been contacted for comment.

Reija Such's petition said: "[St Bartholomew's] is a school who are committed to supporting pupils and families with additional needs.

"Closing it would deprive many of these children's opportunities and it would have a detrimental impact for many of our families who rely on the support from the school.

"Children have had their education and their lives disrupted enough due to the pandemic. We do not need to add even more unnecessary and cruel uncertainty."

The St Bartholomew's petition had 1,887 signatures

Kirsty Moore's petition said: "St Peter's is not just a school, it's an amazing community where teachers are kind, compassionate and understanding.

"The focus here is always on the families and children - an ethos that fosters well-mannered students who feel valued and supported."

She said small community schools like St Peter's supported children with special educational needs but who did not have an education, health and care plan.

As potential reception class pupil numbers plummet across Brighton and Hove, nine primary and infant schools are also facing a reduction in their published admission numbers from 2025, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Consultations are under way for reduced intakes at Brunswick, Goldstone, Queen's Park, Rudyard Kipling, St Luke's, Stanford and Woodingdean primary schools and Patcham and Stanford infant schools.

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