A new boarding school at Ovingdean Hall has applied to demolish the site’s theatre and swimming pool buildings.
Ovingdean Hall, formerly a school for deaf children, was bought by Oxford International College Brighton, an independent day and boarding school, and is due to open in September.
The expansion and redevelopment plans also include the demolition of two blocks of boarding rooms (Littleton and Beacon blocks).
The multi-use games area (MUGA) would be relocated to the south of the site, with dark-sky compliant lighting.
New facilities would then be built for specialist teaching, general teaching classrooms, science labs, staff rooms, indoor sports and boarding for pupils.
The college says the mid-century buildings it wants to knock down have no historical value and don’t contribute to the history of the site. Ovingdean Hall itself is not part of the plans.
The planning statement says: “Besides the need for change due to outdated facilities, the school is looking to expand its facilities.
“The language school most recently operating from Ovingdean Hall had a licence for approximately 400 students at any one time.
“The new school will provide additional educational facilities and a less dense boarding arrangement.
“They anticipate having approximately 400 boarding pupils and 100 day pupils.”
The new 80,000-square-metre site, due to open in September, announced its founding principal as Tess St Clair-Ford in December last year.
The Ovingdean campus will be a satellite site for the company, which has an independent college in Oxford.
It will teach students from years nine to twelve, offering GCSEs and A-Levels as well as university preparation.
Fees range from £26,550 for day tuition for year nine pupils to £28,815 for a one year GCSE course, with boarding starting at £14,050 for a twin, shared bathroom.
Phase one of the project included modifications to the Teaching Block, Clayton, Bradbury and Ditchling buildings.
This phase is due to be completed this summer and if accepted by the council’s Planning Committee, the second phase will be completed in summer next year.
Ovingdean Hall was built in the late 18th century by Nathaniel Kemp, the brother of Thomas Kemp, who founded Kemp Town.
It first became a school in 1891, and in 1945, it was bought by the Brighton Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, which ran it as Ovingdean Hall School, a boarding school for deaf children, until 2010.
It was then taken over by Ovingdean Hall International Language College until 2015.
You can find the current plans on the council’s planning portal under the reference: BH2023/00830.
Oxford International College Brighton was contacted for comment.
