Campaigners welcome proposed changes to Brighton school admissions

The group, which originally formed to tackle inequality in education, initially for children from Whitehawk, Manor Farm and the Bristol Estate, wants to see children from lower-income backgrounds given priority for secondary school places.

Youngsters from the estates have had to travel out of their community to secondary school since the closure of East Brighton College of Media Arts, known as Comart, in 2005.

Many of those who would have gone to Comart, previously Marina High and before that Stanley Deason, in Wilson Avenue, instead are given places at their lone catchment school – Longhill, in Rottingdean.

Today (Wednesday 19 February) Brighton and Hove City Council said that members would vote next week on moving most of Whitehawk and Manor Farm into the Dorothy Stringer and Varndean School catchment. Children in Kemp Town would move into the Longhill catchment.

Class Divide had wanted 30 per cent of school places in dual catchment areas, such as Dorothy Stringer and Varndean, offered to pupils living in the Longhill and BACA single-school catchments.

But council leaders have settled on offering 5 per cent of places at Stringer and Varndean to pupils who would otherwise have the option of just one school.

The group was also pleased with the “ground-breaking move” to give a higher priority to up to 30 per cent of pupils receiving free school meals when allocating secondary places.

Class Divide co-founder Curtis James said: “If approved, Brighton and Hove will become the first city in England to take such decisive action on educational inequality.

“We understand the intense pressure the council has faced to maintain the status quo and welcome their commitment to keep open admissions in the package.

“The proposed 5 per cent rate means families in areas like Bevendean and Moulsecoomb would still have very limited chances of accessing schools beyond their immediate neighbourhood.

“We had advocated for 30 per cent open admissions to create genuinely mixed schools that benefit everyone and will continue our campaign to increase this percentage.”

A special council meeting is due to take place at Hove Town Hall at 3pm on Thursday 27 February to vote on the proposals. The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.