Secondary school to close one of its two sites

A Hove secondary is expected to close its lower school in two years’ time and to teach all of its pupils on one site.

Hove Park School asked the council to approve the closure which would help to reduce running costs as the head and governors deal with a £1.8 million financial deficit.

The change also reflects the closure of Hove Park’s sixth form and a drop in the number of families choosing the school at the end of their children’s primary education.

The lower school is based at the Valley Campus, in Hangleton Way, and is likely to be sold – almost certainly for housing – by Brighton and Hove City Council which owns the site

The decision was made by the council’s cabinet at a meeting at Hove Town Hall today (Thursday 16 July) after two public consultations.

Most of those who responded objected to the closure, citing concerns about transport, parking and road safety as well as praising the benefits of the split-site model.

The Labour deputy leader of the council, Jacob Taylor, said that the proposal was a “positive and proactive move” which came from the school’s head teacher and governors.

Councillor Taylor said that the head and governors believed that the consolidation on one site had “really strong educational merit” and would improve “staff collaboration, resource sharing (and) curriculum delivery”.

He said: “We’ll see the development of better facilities … We should see this clearly as a positive and good step for education in the city.”

The school hopes to bring all pupils together on one site from September 2028, with some building work – estimated to cost £7.6 million – expected to be undertaken before then.

The first phase would involve, among other things, a classroom extension, dining room extension and more toilets. The second phase would include putting in an artificial sports pitch and floodlights.

Labour councillor Trevor Muten, the council’s cabinet member for transport and city infrastructure, acknowledged the concerns of neighbours and families about more traffic in the Nevill Road area.

Councillor Muten said that the Nevill Campus, in Nevill Road, Hove, was well served by buses – unlike the Valley Campus. Services included the 5, 5A and 5B, 47 and the new 3X.

He said that a school travel plan was being drawn up in readiness for the change – and the council was likely to create a new controlled parking zone in the area around the school.

Councillor Muten said: “We are progressing with a new controlled parking zone in this area, with a proposed meeting inviting ward councillors and local residents’ representatives for co-design to parking to work well for this community.

“This may include the opportunity to review school drop-off and pick timings, parking arrangements and walk and stride options.”

A report to the council’s cabinet said that, although there were mixed feelings among the staff, teachers would no longer have to split their time across the two sites.

The report also said that the specialist Cullum Centre, which supports children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), would be retained at the Nevill Campus.

Hove Park has just over half the number pupils it had a little over 10 years ago which has hit the school’s budget because funding is primarily based on pupil numbers.

It also costs more to run a school on two sites, not least because of some duplication.

The report to the council’s cabinet said that the school currently had 941 pupils, with places for 1,260. The published admission number (PAN) was 180 although only 138 students were expected to start in Year 7 in September.

The school’s deficit of more than £1.8 million at the end of the most recent financial year is biggest deficit among local authority-maintained schools in Brighton and Hove.

There have been calls for some sport or leisure provision on the site after it closes, with the cricket pitches being praised.

Labour councillor Alan Robins, the council’s cabinet member for sports, recreation and libraries, told colleagues that suggestions had included basing a football academy there.

While no decisions have been made, the council appears to be leaning towards selling the site for housing – a move that would require the approval of the government’s Education Secretary.

The report to the council’s cabinet said: “To inform the future disposal strategy for the whole site, we have instructed architects to develop a detailed massing study.

“This considers the envelope, density and potential unit mix on the site, aligning to planning parameters/policy.

“Following the completion of this stage, we will be instructing detailed valuation advice to inform the preferred option.”