Brunswick Primary School in Hove has reduced the number of reception children it takes for another two years.
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.
A one-year temporary reduction to 60 was first agreed with the Office of the Schools Adjudicator from September 2025.
Brighton and Hove City Council, with support from the school governors, has asked to keep the school’s published admission numbers (PAN) at 60 for September 2026 and 2027.
There are currently 52 children offered places to start in reception at the school, according to the letter to the adjudicator, which would leave 48 places unfilled with a PAN of 90.
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.
Brunswick has a £3 million budget and is currently about £180,000 in the red.
The council’s comment to the adjudicator said: “The school is operating in a deficit budget position, and the recovery plan requires limiting the reception year to two classes.
“Should the school be required to open a third reception class, it would have a disastrous effect on the financial recovery and likely lead to an increase in the school’s deficit.
“This will allow the school to have some financial certainty over staffing over the next few years without the potential need to [employ] an additional teacher to comply with class size legislation should further pupils apply.”
Reports to the Schools’ Forum have shown the school is more than £300,000 in the red.
In his report, the adjudicator Dr Robert Crawley notes the falling number of pupils predicted in Hove, which with the reduction, would still leave 94 surplus places in the area for the school year starting September 2029.
He said: “The governing body told me that the request to reduce the PAN in 2026/27 and 2027/28 was part of a wider package of measures, a list of which I have seen.
“In my view, the governing body at the school and the LA (local authority) have clearly thought through how the financial shortfall in the school’s budget is to be addressed and it is evident that the reduction in PAN can be approved with no apparent impact on parental preference in 2026/27 and 2027/28.”
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.
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.
