The schools adjudicator has backed catchment area changes in Brighton and Hove as well as new admissions rules aimed at “tackling inequality”.
Almost all of the objections to the secondary school changes agreed by Brighton and Hove City Council in February were rejected by the Office of the Schools Adjudicator.
But objections by parents to changes proposed for Blatchington Mill and Dorothy Stringer, accepted by the schools administrator, mean that both schools will stick with a published admission number (PAN) of 330 pupils in year 7 next September.
Labour councillor Jacob Taylor said: “We are pleased that the adjudicator agreed that changes to our secondary school admissions arrangements were consistent with the School Admissions Code.”
Councillor Taylor, the deputy leader of the council, spent months making the case for change as the administration looked at how best to tackle falling pupil numbers across Brighton and Hove.
The schools adjudicator’s decision was published today (Tuesday 21 October), with 10 days to go before the deadline to apply for a year 7 secondary school place next September.
As a result of the ruling, the catchment changes affecting Dorothy Stringer, Varndean and Longhill will stand.
The decision means that children from the northern half of Whitehawk are now in the Stringer and Varndean catchment while children from Kemp Town are now in the Longhill catchment.
The admissions criteria gives greater priority to children who are eligible for free school meals, with up to 30 per cent of places set aside for them at community secondary schools.
The community secondary schools are Blatchington Mill, Dorothy Stringer, Hove Park, Longhill, Patcham High and Varndean School.
Academies and church schools set their own admissions criteria. In Brighton and Hove those schools are the Brighton Aldridge Community Academy (BACA), Cardinal Newman, the King’s School and the Portslade Aldridge Community Academy (PACA).
The council has also brought in “open admissions” so that community schools must set aside up to 5 per cent of places for pupils from single-school catchment areas.
This is expected to make it easier for children in some of the poorer parts of Brighton and Hove to obtain a place at the most popular schools.
The schools adjudicator also rejected complaints about the way that the council carried out its consultation before reaching a decision in February.
The decision report by the Office of the Schools Adjudicator said: “I did not find the arrangements to be unreasonable.
“Neither did I find there to be any unfairness or that that the arrangements would be indirectly discriminatory.
“I find that the consultation process met the requirements as set out in the code and the four Gunning principles.”
The council said: “The only objections to be upheld relate to the published admission number (PAN) for Blatchington Mill and Dorothy Stringer.
“The adjudicator has decided that we must increase the published admission number from the planned 300 back up to 330 at both Blatchington Mill and Dorothy Stringer Schools for 2026-27.
“While the adjudicator agreed that the council is taking entirely appropriate action to reduce the surplus school places and prepare schools for the reduction in number of children, in particular to protect the financial position of its community secondary schools in the medium to long term, the adjudicator felt the current demand for places at the two schools made this change premature for 2026-27.
“We will look at the decision in detail over the next few days and update the information on our admissions arrangements as soon as possible.
“You can update and amend any applications for secondary school places for 2026-27 until the Friday 31 October closing date.”
Councillor Taylor said: “Our admission arrangements were carefully considered to allow us to build a better future for children and young people in Brighton and Hove by tackling inequality, creating greater equity of opportunity and improving educational outcomes for all young people in the city.
“We are pleased that the adjudicator agreed that changes to our secondary school admissions arrangements were consistent with the School Admissions Code.
“School places and the education of our children is a deeply personal and sometimes emotional subject for families.
“We must acknowledge that some families will be pleased and excited while others will be upset and disappointed at these decisions.
“As a council, we try to balance the views and concerns of all parents while taking forward policies that we think are fair and in the best interest of children in the city.
“We’ll be looking at the adjudicator’s decision closely in the coming days and clarifying our admissions arrangements accordingly.
“We will contact all parents and carers that have already submitted secondary school applications for 2026-27 to explain these changes.”
Dorothy Stringer School said: “Although we did not object to the proposed reduction, we are delighted that as the top-performing state school in Brighton and Hove, we can continue to offer high-quality provision to 330 pupils each year.
“In addition, we are expanding our outreach programme to support local community schools.”
Minor clarification: Blatchington Mill School formally objected to the PAN reduction – not just parents.
Until the council adopts a policy of encouraging development of family housing instead of the hundreds of flats and the HMOs for students, the numbers of school children will continue to decline and more schools will close.
I’d like that a step further, and say it’s a question of building affordable homes. Otherwise, you could build all sorts of housing types…and no-one could afford to live in them.
I live in Whitehawk, just off Whitehawk Crescent, what catchment am I in then as I’m not classed as Kemp Town or North Whitehawk-think I’m South.
The boundary is Manor Hill and Manor Way. North of there and you’re in the revised catchment for Dorothy Stringer and Varndean.
Fake news article from the council!!
Making it sound like the adjudicator agreed with their decisions! Read the full document https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/brighton-and-hove-city-council-local-authority-schools-20-october-2025 to see for yourself on just how many counts the adjudicator did not agree with the council but did not have the power to overturn them
Not quite.
The adjudicator partially upheld objections only on one point: they ruled the PAN cuts at Blatchington Mill and Dorothy Stringer were premature for 2026/27, so both must stay at 330 for that year. But he did not find the arrangements “unreasonable,” “unfair,” or “indirectly discriminatory,” and he found the consultation met the Code and the Gunning principles.