Brighton & Hove City Council expected to agree to two school closures

The council has said falling pupil numbers equate to reduced funding for schools

Councillors are expected to agree to close two Brighton primary schools despite opposition from parents.

St Bartholomew's Church of England Primary School in the city and St Peter's Community Primary School and Nursery in Portslade could shut in August.

A decision will be made at two Brighton & Hove City Council meetings over the next week.

The council said local primary schools had too many spare places.

Councillors in the children, families and schools committee will discuss the move on Thursday, and if they agree to the closures, the final decision will be taken at a meeting of the full council on Monday.

There are currently 2,610 reception year primary school places in Brighton & Hove but the council has forecast there may only be 1,970 children requiring a place in September next year.

Parents and staff from both schools have campaigned against the closures and pleaded with councillors to change their minds.

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St Peter's parent Kirsty Moore made an emotional appeal to councillors last month, asking them to reconsider.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "My eldest daughter is autistic and has been really hard work since they announced the closure.

"My children will lose their friends. My eldest uses her friends to communicate with her teachers as she's selectively mute."

Another campaigner, Emily Brewer, said the only other nursery options in south Portslade were private.

"It's all very well saying it's about numbers but [a] report issued in January showed the nursery school has seen a 70% increase in demand in just over a year," she said.

Councillors also agreed last month to reduce admissions at six other primary and infant schools to tackle falling numbers.

A report to the committee said those who responded to a four-week statutory notice of closure consultation disagreed with the proposals to close the area's two smallest schools.

It also showed central Brighton primary schools, including St Bartholomew's, were forecast to have more than 100 surplus reception spaces for the next four years.

Portslade primary schools, which include St Peter's, were forecast to have more than 90 surplus reception places, and rising, in the same period.

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