The council has taken the next step in the process of closing a secondary school site in Hove.
This week, Brighton and Hove City Council published a statutory notice proposing the closure of Hove Park School’s Valley Campus, in Hangleton Way, Hove.
The aim is to consolidate the school on to the Nevill Campus, in Nevill Road, Hove, from September 2028 with the final decision due to be taken by the council’s cabinet next month.
The move follows a fall in the number of children attending Hove Park which has hit the school’s finances because funding is based mainly on the number of pupils.
The school will need to make changes at the Nevill Campus to fit in all the pupils but will save money by only having the one site to run.
The changes in Nevill Road may require planning permission – and the Valley Campus, formerly the Knoll School for Girls, could be sold, with the possibility of homes being built on the site.
The council said: “We’ve published a statutory notice on the proposed consolidation of Hove Park School on to a single site.
“Hove Park School currently operates across two sites – Valley Campus and Nevill Campus. Pupils in Years 7 and 8 are currently educated at Valley Campus, while pupils in Year 9 onwards are based at Nevill Campus.
“The council, with the support of the school, is proposing to consolidate all operations on to the Nevill Campus site from September 2028, releasing the Valley Campus for disposal.
“To address the drop in pupil numbers, Hove Park School has already reduced its published admission number (PAN) – the maximum number of students it can take per year – from 300 to 180.
“From Monday 13 April to Monday 25 May, we held a public consultation with parents, carers, staff, governors and the wider community on the proposals to discontinue use of the Valley Campus site.
“We also held three public engagement events during the consultation.”
The council said that, of those who responded, 63 per cent did not support the proposed change while 29 per cent did.
The council said: “The publication of the notice marks the start of a four-week representation period offering residents a further chance to comment on the proposal to consolidate the school on to a single site from September 2028.
“We want to hear from pupils, parents and carers, staff and local residents. Your feedback is vital in helping us understand the potential impacts of the proposal and inform our decision-making process.”
To read the statutory notice, click here. The deadline for comments is 11.59pm on Monday 6 July.
The council said that issues raised during the recent consultation included
- Concerns about transport, traffic and parking – including worries about some younger pupils having to rely on public transport
- Risks to pupils who walking or cycling to school
- The loss of educational benefits of the current two-site system, particularly for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
- Potential bullying risks for younger pupils at the Nevill Road site
The council also said: “Hove Park School is committed to maintaining the quality of education by preserving its distinctive ethos throughout the transition.
“SEND provision would be replicated and enhanced and transition support would be available for affected students and families.
“Traffic management measures would also be implemented to address transport and safety concerns. Community engagement and transparent communication would be maintained throughout the process.”
The council added: “Following the statutory notice period, any additional feedback will be reviewed and a final decision will be made at the Thursday 16 July cabinet meeting.
“If councillors decide to proceed with the proposals, the changes would take effect from Friday 1 September 2028.
“No pupils would be required to leave the school as a result of this proposal. All current students would continue their education at Hove Park School on the consolidated Nevill Campus.
“Only the Year 7 cohort starting in 2027 would experience a change to their expected progression if the proposals are agreed.
“These students would move to Nevill Campus in September 2028 (Year 8) instead of the originally planned September 2029 (Year 9).
“Several options for future use of the Valley Campus are currently being assessed, ranging from full disposal of the site to partial disposal retaining certain land or facilities.
“Any disposal will be carried out in accordance with the relevant statutory requirements and guidance.”
This is what happens when people don’t downsize as they get older, forcing families to move out of the city. I think putting housing in the site is short sighted as it 10 years there will probably swing back to a shortage of school places
Well said. Once you put houses on the site it’s purpose is fixed. Just have it as a park and it’s low cost to switch to a use for a public service that isn’t obvious today.
No, its what happens when the fashionable schools expand during the boom years and refuse to cut capacity now numbers are falling. Given the choice parents prefer to ram their kids into Blatchington Mill and Newman than send them to Hove Park. Same thing is happening over the border in Brighton where parents refuse to let Dotty Stringer and Varndean shrink down, although as those schools suck in children from the less glittering parts of the city they might have a rethink, who knows.
What houses are they going to downsize into ?
You can have plentiful affordable housing for all, or you can have uncontrolled migration into the UK, pick one, as you can’t have both
I feel like the incentives to downsize, especially in council housing, needs improving. I ran some basic numbers, and the cost of downsizing eats up most, if not all, of the incentive awarded. I think a stepped approach to downsizing makes sense as well, someone might not want to downsize from a 3 bed to 1, but might be amicable to a 2 be.
Currently, policy doesn’t allow this, only allowing a downsize to the lowest suitable.
So a near 2/3 rds majority are against the proposal but we’ll just ignore the “consultation” and go ahead with our plans anyway.
The other question that needs answering is; if new houses are built for families, where do the children from there go to school?
It’s really not a well-thought out, joined-up plan is it?
Consultations (like planning applications) aren’t popularity contests Ann.
They aren’t binding votes to make decisions.
I wonder how many would still vote against the closure if they realised that not closing the site would mean less money being spent on actual education – teachers and books etc – and more being spend on keeping a half empty building open.
Maybe we should adopt a system like the Swiss? It just seems shortsighted that we are creating a shortage of quality education by closing schools and building houses. I cannot fathom the logic. Smaller classes generally lead to better tuition and achievement. Given the rapid rise in SEND pupils, this could actually result in savings. To me it appears to be a win, win situation.
What a referendum on virtually every issue?
That would cost a small fortune every time one was held. Plus councils don’t have the powers to hold referenda except on increasing the council tax over the threshold set by the government,
Here we elect councillors to make these decisions.
Long-term trends generally show that school placement requirements are not going to rise for over a decade, quite the opposite. It’s why policy like uncapping the two child benefit limit is an important change.
Knoll school for girls was never at the Hangleton Way site!!!
It was on the Old Shoreham Road. My last year there in 1965 was the final year in thar location for both Knoll Boys and girls- which were single sex schools. Hove Park then opened in 1965 as a mixed school.
Please check facts before publishing ng mis-informàtion….or was AI???
So both of my old schools are going to not exist anymore, get rid of west hove now and we’ve got the trilogy.
Getting rid of Hove seems to be a council priority. Just call it all Brighton and be done with it.
Sad that schools for poorer families closing
Hopefully is at least replaced with council flats
Typical Brighton mad dog lefties at the council. They will probably create more housing for the illegal immigrants on the site.
Councils do not house asylum seekers or migrants, and has no legal obligation to do so.
Maybe not, but they are being incentivised by the Home Office, who are responsible, to do just that
Sure, the dispersal system exists nation wide, but they aren’t in competition, since the Home Office cannot use council housing stock for this purpose. Put simply, placing an asylum seeker doesn’t directly block a local from getting a council flat.
I think that’s a really important point to make; because it is a myth that is often repeated.