Proposed changes to Brighton and Hove secondary admissions may leave more than 200 children without a place at their catchment area school.
The figures come from a report to Brighton and Hove City Council’s cabinet which is due to meet next Thursday (5 December).
Up to 125 youngsters in the Dorothy Stringer and Varndean catchment could miss out on a place at their local school, along with 57 children in the Hove Park and Blatchington Mill catchment and 44 in Patcham.
They could miss out under a proposed new admission policy for September 2026 which would give more choice to children in a catchment area with just one school such as the Portslade Aldridge Community Academy (PACA) and Longhill.
The report said: “In some instances, there will not be places available under the categories due to the current profile of the pupils in the catchment area.
“As under the current arrangements, it is possible that a pupil may not receive a place in a catchment area school as it is subject to the pattern of preferences made across the city.
“The introduction of new priorities does not reduce the likelihood of this happening. It is most likely going to increase the potential of this happening in certain areas of the city over the coming years.”
The forecast for September 2026 has 624 children in the Dorothy Stringer and Varndean catchment and the prospect of 120 from outside the area being able to apply for places at the two schools. This could leave 125 children unable to take up a place at their local school.
In the Hove Park and Blatchington Mill catchment, there is a forecast of 434 pupils, with 103 places available to youngsters from outside the area. This could leave 57 children without a place at their local school.
For Patcham High, the forecast has 205 children living in the catchment and 64 places likely to be open to those from outside the area. This could leave 44 youngsters unable to take up a place at the their local school.
The report does not take into account pupils going to a private school or Cardinal Newman Catholic School or the King’s School.
Parent Adam Dennett, a professor of urban analytics, has looked in-depth at the issues facing schools in Brighton and Hove.
He said that he was still “unpicking the complexities” but was concerned about the effect on families with children potentially being excluded from their local catchment schools.
He said that one irony that might flow from the proposed admission changes that would bring Whitehawk and the Manor Farm estate into the Stringer and Varndean catchment was that these children could yet miss out on a place at those schools.
Professor Dennett said: “Initial indications are that these plans are as rushed and ill-thought through as those presented in the engagement exercise (last month).
“What is on the table are all of the worst bits of ‘option B’ from the original proposals – so roundly rejected by the community – in disguise.
“The council appear bent on forcing vast numbers of the city’s children to attend schools out of their catchment and a long way from their homes, with no care for the impact on those children and their learning.
“The views coming out of the engagement were unequivocal but, for reasons known only to the council, they have chosen to disregard the community and press ahead with their own ideas.”
The council carried out a three-week public engagement exercise before the cabinet report was drafted.
More than 2,400 people responded, with more than half of them against reducing admissions to the most popular schools and against the two most far-reaching options to change catchment areas.
At a meeting scheduled for next Thursday (5 December), the cabinet is being asked to approve an eight-week public consultation, starting next Friday (6 December).
The meeting is due to start at 5pm and to be webcast on the council’s website.
