Campaign group Class Divide has welcomed Brighton and Hove City Council’s proposals to change the rules for secondary 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.
I’m all up for Children in the Whitehawk Area been given a chance at getting others Schools-but why is it all done to those who get Free School meals.
I live on the Estate ( both my Boys went to Longhill obviously wanted Stringer/Varndean-out of Area)
We pay everything, full rent, Full Council Tax, School Dinners ( at the time) all the general household bill like everyone else does, yet cos of where we live the Catchment area was Longhill so we’re out of the Area but that was the only School we were basically offered, I tried to Appeal and couldn’t get it.
Dorothy Stringer is 3.7 miles
Longhill 3.9 Miles
Baca 4.3 Miles
Hove Park ( Valley Camp Lower) 5.6 Miles
Varndean 4.1 Miles
Blatchington Mill 4.6 Miles
I don’t understand how they work it all out, they say they go by Postcode but I reckon that’s why a lot Lie to get them into the popular schools-there is no way they check Child to Address with anything like Child Benefit, they just go what’s on School Application at the time.
And a lot of Parents will be moaning if some get The popular schools and others don’t.
Be intresting to see what happens I guess with it all.
Free school meals are used as a measure of poverty. Poverty creates disadvantages to young students. Targeting those on free school meals helps to balance those disadvantages. It’s a reasonable logic.