Councillors voted to close the oldest school in Brighton at a special meeting today (Thursday 21 May).
More than 1,300 people signed a petition presented by parents calling on Brighton and Hove City Council to save Middle Street Primary School from closure.
But despite impassioned pleas from Green, Conservative and Independent councillors at the meeting at Brighton Town Hall – a few hundred yards from the school – the vote to close the school passed because of the ruling Labour group’s majority.
Pippa Taylor presented the petition at the start of the special council meeting, underlining how the school was more than a financial balance sheet.
She said: “Middle Street was once a school with a waiting list and, in fact, operating at over 90 per cent occupancy just over a year ago.
“The current situation did not happen overnight. Concerns were raised, confidence lost and numbers fell. Many in the community feel these issues were not addressed early enough.
“Children and families should not be left to carry the consequences of failures they did not create.”
The council appointed an interim executive board (IEB) in June last year – a step that had to be signed off by the Education Secretary. It followed concerns about governance and financial viability
The school ran up a deficit of more than £400,000 in two years, in part because staff were suspended on full pay or absent on long-term sick leave. The cost of supply teachers added to the budget pressures.
The IEB explored federating with another school or schools but when just three families applied for a reception place at Middle Street for September, the IEB recommended closing the school.
As the school enters its final half term, just 37 children remain. Of those, 27 are in year 6 and due to start secondary school in September.
Green councillor Ellen McLeay said that the school did not suddenly become unviable. Parents started raising concerns about governance in November 2024, she said. But their complaints were not followed up or passed on and they were considered a “nuisance”.
Councillor McLeay said: “These serious failures are the foundation of the proposed closure because, by the time action was taken, reputational damage was already done.
“Very loyal parents lost faith and, in some cases, were exhausted and sought stability for their children.”
The West Hill and North Laine councillor said that it was important not to “wrap the closure in the narrative of falling pupil numbers” which has led to the closure of three other primary schools in the past two years.
She urged the council to take a closer look at how it deals with whistle-blowing and ensure concerns are acted upon.
Her fellow Green councillor Sue Shanks, who also represents West Hill and North Laine, reflected on the impact of the wider community.
Councillor Shanks said that lifelong friendships were made at the school gates and parents walking to school also supported local shops.
She mentioned the closure of St Bartholomew’s CofE School, in Ann Street, Brighton, in 2024 and said: “There is a real loss of community in that area because parents aren’t going to just hang around outside the school gates to use the shops along London Road.
“So we have a huge impact on the community as well.”
Conservative leader Alistair McNair raised concerns about how Middle Street had run up a six-figure deficit in such a short time – as had a number of other schools in Brighton and Hove.
Councillor McNair also spoke about governance, saying: “There have been concerns over head teacher recruitment. Parents complained about a lack of transparency from the council, a lack of answers all played out in the media.
“None of this can have been helpful for the staff and, more importantly, the pupils.”
Brighton and Hove Independent councillor Mark Earthey said that he could not “sanction the closure”.
Councillor Earthey said: “I appreciate … the numbers and I really would want a full inquiry first as to why we have got to here and then reserve judgment.
“Something has clearly gone desperately, desperately wrong here and I just really do need to know why.”
The Labour deputy leader of the council, Jacob Taylor, said that the school was a vibrant part of central Brighton’s community which his family knew well because his wife attended the school.
Councillor Taylor said: “I want to be clear that the failures in governance and financial management at the school up to May 2025 are serious issues.
“The council needs to properly examine whether these were avoidable which is why we have agreed to an independent review of the sequence of events leading up to that point.”
He said that it would be carried out by someone independent from the council who had yet to be named.
All the Labour councillors voted for the closure along with one Green councillor. The rest of the Greens and all the Conservative and Independent councillors voted against.
The school is due to close formally at the end of August, with the last few dozen pupils due to leave in July.
