Brunswick Primary School in Hove is reducing the number of reception classes from three to two for one year from September due to falling numbers.
The school in Somerhill Road, Hove, was once the largest in the city, with a published admission number (PAN) of 120 per year group.
However amid falling pupil numbers across the city this was reduced to 90, or three forms, from September 2023.
Brighton and Hove City Council applied to the schools adjudicator to reduce the admissions even further, with support from Brunswick’s governors as 53 pupils are due to start in reception in September, leaving 37 places unfilled.
The majority of school funding is based on pupil numbers, which means if enough late applications came in and the school had to open a third class, this would require additional staffing and resources it was not adequately funded for.
In its application, the council said: “The risk to the school of admitting more than 60 pupils will exacerbate the financial pressure the school is under.
“It already has a deficit budget position agreed with the local authority that was exceeded at the end of the 2024/25 financial year.
“It has also received a notice of concern, under the local authority’s scheme for financing schools and a warning notice which have applied greater scrutiny on the school’s management and performance.
“The school has submitted a revised licensed deficit agreement to the council that assumes the number of pupils does not exceed 60 pupils being admitted in the academic year 2025/26.”
A report to the council’s schools forum showed Brunswick ended the last school year £339,255 in the red, and overspent by £44,193 in 2023/24 resulting in a cumulative overspend of £383,448.
In his report, the schools’ adjudicator, Dr Robert Cawley notes Brunswick is one of seven in the council’s central Hove planning group, which has 660 places available to children starting in reception.
Since 2022, the number of empty places in reception class at primary and infant schools in the area, which includes Cottesmore Roman Catholic, St Andrew’s Church of England (CofE), Bilingual, Aldrington CofE, Goldstone and the two West Hove Infant Schools sites, has increased.
Without any changes to Brunswick’s PAN the number of surplus spaces in the planning area would stand at 5.5 per cent in the academic year from September.
Projected figures over the following three academic years show 124 spare spaces in 2026/27, 176 in 2027/28 and 154 in 2028/29.
In his decision, Dr Cawley said: “Whilst this may be the case at this point prior to the start of the academic year when it would be difficult to be moving around the class structure, mixed-age teaching may be something the governing body will need to consider if the reduction in admissions continues.
“In my view, the governing body at the school and the local authority have clearly thought through how the financial shortfall in the school’s budget is to be addressed.
“The governing body told me that the request to reduce the PAN in 2025/26 was part of a wider package of measures.”
In 2021, Brunswick successfully appealed to the schools’ adjudicator to keep its PAN at 120, after the council voted to reduce admissions to 90 for September 2022.
During its last Ofsted inspection in June 2024, Brunswick was judged to be “requires improvement”.
Since 2019, Brighton and Hove City Council has been reducing admissions at larger schools across the city due to a falling birth rate.
The 2021 census showed there were 20 per cent fewer under-fives in the city when compared with the 2011 data.
This is a problem across Hove, and the real reason which seems to be largely ignored is that it is because people with children cannot afford to stay in Hove. As soon as people have kids they have to move out of the area. I know this is not applicable to everyone (before it is pointed out) but it is a massive part of the reason.
‘The 2021 census showed there were 20 per cent fewer under-fives in the city when compared with the 2011 data’
If the Greens & Labour hadn’t been pandering to students & built more (or for that matter – any!) houses for families – we wouldn’t be in this situation.
Families are moving out of the City due to many reasons – least of all a lack of affordable housing.
Don’t forget the drug problem, graffiti, extortionate rent, ridiculous house prices, lack of well paid jobs, and general rundown state of the City, the i360 and projected 98 million deficit. Council tax that matches London this list is endless…
I can’t wait to get out of here !
Exactly that, no Affordable Housing-and private rent is whey to high for anyone to be able afford.
They need Deposit, Guaratour to help just in case rent isn’t paided
People can’t even get on The Housing Lists, even though at one point it used to help everyone who needed it, a lot of properties have gone to those who’s First Languge isn’t English.
Amberley Drive in Hove is full of them, all or most are Taxi Drivers so have the money for Deposit, yet accepted on Council list
Ivan, you know full well your own Conservative government slashed affordable housing targets, kept the viability loophole wide open, and oversaw a decade of rent hikes that priced out working families. Brighton & Hove has delivered housing, but national policy made it profitable to build luxury flats instead of family homes. The census shift is the direct result of those Tory decisions, not some imagined “pandering to students.
To me, it will always be Somerhill. Daft changing the name to Brunswick – it’s not even in Brunswick. It was about a third of the size it is now.
A wonderful school I was lucky enough to attend in the mid-late 70s. Mr Welsh was the Headmaster.
At Somerhill, I had the best piece of education I have ever had. Every Monday, as we waited in assembly to collect our dinner money tickets. Mr. Welsh made us recite our times tables from an overhead projector. To this day, I still know all of my times tables off by heart; which makes the general maths we need in life so much easier.
Thankyou Sir, and much respect to you.
Doesn’t B and H have one of the lowest, if not the lowest birth rate in the UK due in part to the costs of living in the city? Rent forms nearly 50% of the average person’s income. Again, the highest proportion in the UK.
Tories fault. They created a 50bn black hole and increased immigration. No money left now as spent on hotels and freebies. None left for schools.
Hold on, Rachel Reeves (Labour Chancellor) said the alleged black hole was 22 billion last December. Are you saying it is the Tories fault that during a year of Labour government this has now doubled? Yes the Tories were rubbish but Labour are economically incompetent and it isn’t helped by lying and blaming everything on the Conservatives. Labour are going to open the door to Reform winning the next election.
Fiscal changes lag, so much of the deterioration reflects spending and revenue patterns set before Labour took office.
Except the economy was improving when Labour came in. Labour continually talked the economy down, battered business and jobs through the NI increase (they should have had the courage to raise general taxation), drove legions of hi net worth people out of the country, proved impossible to reduce benefit spending, or civil servant numbers so borrowed more and more (that’s the 50 billion). We are now on the edge of a sovereign debt crisis. I’m guessing you think a wealth tax will sort all this out. Good luck with that.
KR, much of what you’ve said isn’t supported by the evidence.
The £50 billion figure mixes existing commitments and higher debt interest with new measures; the OBR’s December 2024 gap was mostly set in motion before Labour took office.
There’s no published data showing a mass exodus of high-net-worth individuals since 2024, this is a generally biased narrative from. Growth at handover was very fragile, and debt servicing pressures were already baked in.
Therefore, fiscal outcomes in 2025 still largely reflect previous budgets, so it’s misleading to pin the current gap solely on Labour.
On Wealth, the UK’s wealth gap has doubled since the 1980s, yet our tax system leans heavily on income and consumption, while vast accumulated assets often go untaxed.
Independent modelling from the LSE and Warwick shows a modest levy on net assets over £10 million could raise £10–15 billion a year, even after accounting for avoidance measures.
Other countries with similar systems haven’t seen the “mass exodus” some claim; that particular narrative is often conducted by wealth advisory firms, who have a clear interest in pushing the fear of exodus.
Independent studies suggest a much more find actual mobility is far lower, because most high-net-worth individuals keep their wealth tied up here. If we’re serious about fixing long-term fiscal holes without squeezing ordinary earners further, a fairer tax system has to be on the table.
One that taxes wealth, not income.
Mixed-age teaching worked very well before Davigdor and Somerhill combined – they had two year groups per class so there’s no reason why it wouldn’t work again.
The paragraph that starts..
Since 2022, the number of empty places in reception class at primary and infant schools in the area…
Is incorrect. Those are anll the popular annd oversubscribed schools you’ve included e.g there are waiting lists at Cottesmore for every year group (20+ for reception 2025) so there are no empty places.
Please update