Brighton councillors urged to push on with school closures

Parents at the two schools have staged protests against the plans

Councillors in Brighton have been urged to push ahead with plans to close two primary schools, despite opposition.

A report recommended the closure of St Peter's Community and St Bartholomew's Church of England schools.

It comes after parents staged protests, and more than two-thirds of respondents opposed the proposals in a council consultation exercise.

A councillor said the closures were "the right thing to do to secure the long-term future of our schools".

The report from Brighton & Hove City Council's Children, Families and Schools committee which recommended moving ahead with the plans followed a public consultation held between November and December.

The consultation showed 69% of respondents disagreed with the plans, with 61% strongly disagreeing.

The proposal is to close the schools by the end of the current academic year.

St Bartholomew's head teacher Katie Blood said 'months of education' could be lost for some pupils

Katie Blood, head teacher at St Bartholomew's, said good relationships with more vulnerable children "take time to grow" and suggested the school could close gradually by not accepting new reception children.

"Our biggest concern [is] that months of education are going to be lost for some pupils, because of the timeframes that are being put forward," she said.

Councillor Jacob Taylor, co-chair of the committee, said: "The way the government school funding formula works means that empty places have a serious impact on the resources and teaching available to pupils.

"Reducing the number of school places is the right thing to do to secure the long-term future of our schools."