• Schools and Councillors issue statements welcoming the news that local Primary Schools will no longer face a reduction in places;
• 2,323 people signed petitions objecting to Council proposals to remove 15 places each from Woodingdean and Rudyard Kipling Primary Schools from 2023;
• Woodingdean’s popular schools can now continue to offer places and cater to demand in the local area;

Woodingdean’s Schools and Councillors have today celebrated the news that their two local primary schools will no longer be affected by reductions in the Published Admissions Number, following a change in Council policy.

Both local Primary Schools - Woodingdean Primary and Rudyard Kipling Primary – had been earmarked for a reduction of 15 places from July 2023 onwards under a Council policy to address falling demand for school places in Brighton and Hove.

However the two schools, which are both very popular and oversubscribed, fought back against the Council’s plan saying that it was unfair that oversubscribed schools should pay the price for population changes elsewhere, organising two local petitions that were presented in December.

The petition to stop Woodingdean Primary School from having its pupil numbers reduced was signed by 1338 people, while the petition to Keep Rudyard Kipling Primary School and Nursery as a two form entry school was signed by 985 residents.

Conservative Woodingdean Councillors Dee Simson and Steve Bell, who publicly backed the schools in the lead up to the Council meeting in December, said that they were delighted at the Council’s policy change.

Councillor Dee Simson said that Woodingdean’s primary schools were over-subscribed and it should never had been targeted for reductions.

“The Council’s proposal would have forced many children to travel outside of the village to access a school place - a journey that would require a minimum of two buses or create even more traffic movements by private car” Cllr Simson said.

“Woodingdean has become a neighbourhood favoured by families for many reasons: its rural environment, more reasonably priced private housing, of which there is an ongoing increase with demolition of one property to be replaced by three or even four new ones, and the amount of social housing that will always remain in council ownership because of the nature of its non-traditional build.

“Woodingdean is an isolated part of the city that should be allowed to continue to offer a primary school places for all children in the village who need and want one.

“I am pleased that its schools will now continue to be able to offer places to accommodate the demand” Cllr Simson said.

Councillor Steve Bell thanked everyone who had signed the petitions and the schools’ head teachers who had helped fight the proposals.

“There was a lot of work in the community:  meetings, school visits, petitions and a protest – and everyone played their part” Cllr Bell said.

“The petitions in particular made a great difference, showing the strength of feeling in Woodingdean against these changes.  We fought hard to make sure they were allowed to be presented in Full so that the Council heard the message from Woodingdean loud and clear.

“The Council’s policy was a bad one that would have only encouraged more families to leave the City and we are pleased it has now come to an end.

“The Council needs to return to its ‘family of schools’ approach and in future must ensure that it protects areas where demand for school places are high” Cllr Bell added.

Headteachers Euan Hanington (Rudyard Kipling Primary School) and Gemma Chumnansin (Woodingdean Primary School) issued the following joint statement:

“Both Rudyard Kipling Primary School and Nursery (RKPS) and Woodingdean Primary School (WPS) are delighted that they will continue to be two form entry schools in September 2023. We are pleased that Brighton and Hove City Council have seen the potential for growth in both of our schools as more families choose to relocate to the attractive Woodingdean area of Brighton and Hove.

“To have two excellent primary schools in Woodingdean, both two form entry, will continue to make Woodingdean  an enticing area for families to re-locate to. We would like to thank Councillors Dee Simson and Steve Bell for supporting both of our schools in achieving this outcome. Both RKPS and WPS will continue to support the other schools included in the consultation who have our full support.”

ENDS.