Brighton: St Bartholomew's pupils and staff march over possible closure

Parents, students and pupils marched from the school to the Jubilee Library

Pupils and teachers at a Sussex school at risk of closure have marched in an effort to keep the site open.

St Bartholomew's Church of England Primary School in Brighton is at risk of closing by a council due to falling pupil numbers.

The group set off from the school at 15:20 GMT on Monday and walked to the Jubilee Library in the city.

Brighton and Hove City Council said the issue was a combination of demographics and finances.

Co-chair of the council's Children, Families and Schools Committee Jacob Taylor said the council "must take decisive action".

"More than one in five primary school places in the city is now empty."

The school is at risk of closure due to falling pupil numbers

"This means more and more of our schools are finding themselves in extreme financial difficulty, and without the resources needed to provide the support they would want to.

"The total cost to our primary age schools of empty reception age places alone is currently around £2m."

'We will fight'

Parent Eleesha Painter said: "We're a team and we're not going down without a fight.

"We will fight to the very end."

Revd Emily Roe, another parent, said: "It's a beautifully inclusive school, and it's a school where there's a huge amount of needs and those needs are met."

Another parent, Ross Harper, said it was important he attended the march to tell the world how "unjust and wrong" it is to close such a "beautiful" and "diverse" school.

'Working really hard'

Head teacher Katie Blood, who was hoping about 100 people would take part in the march to sway the council, said: "It is really good [to have the school rallying together].

"Obviously it is sad that it takes something like this for that to happen but everyone has been working really hard as a team.

"I think morale is quite high because of all the support we are getting from families."

She added: "We have heard things around them saying their children are crying themselves to sleep at night."

Head teacher Katie Blood said it was "really good" that everyone was rallying together

She added: "The more this process has gone on, the more I have realised how important it is that we stay open.

"I think it will be really difficult for lots and lots of our children to go to school elsewhere. They will struggle to settle in other schools - that is not to say other schools aren't brilliant."

Ms Blood has previously suggested that a better alternative to suddenly closing schools would be for them to stop taking new pupils, so any existing children could complete their full primary education.

Parents and teachers say St Bartholomew's and St Peter's Community Primary School in Portslade, which is also at risk, cater for children with special educational needs.

St Bartholomew's Primary School is one of two primaries in Brighton at risk of closure

The council said the issue was a combination of demographics and finances.

It said between 2011 and 2021, there had been a 22% drop in children under four living in Brighton.

Mr Taylor, who claimed the council was facing its "worst ever financial crisis", said it was committed to keeping as many schools open and viable as possible with closures being a last resort.

He added: "We must act in the interests of children who will be denied support if the problem isn't addressed."

The Children, Families and Schools Committee will consider responses to its school admissions consultation at a meeting in January.

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