New secondary school for Brighton

The school will be for students aged 11 to 16 years and will offer 180 places each year. It will be sited in the centre-east part of the city, and will open in September 2018. 

The University of Brighton Academies Trust has been working in conjunction with Brighton and Hove City Council and the project has now moved to the ‘pre-opening’ planning stage.

An application, submitted to the Department for Education last year, was developed in partnership with the city council, with positive contributions and feedback from primary and secondary headteachers in the city. The proposal also has the support of the major political parties in Brighton and Hove.

Professor Debra Humphris, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Brighton

Professor Debra Humphris, the university’s Vice-Chancellor, said: “We are delighted the application has been successful. Brighton and Hove City Council predicts there will be a pressing need for a new school in Brighton to meet a projected growth in the number of 11 to 16-year-old students in the next two to three years.

“We are pleased to be working in partnership with the city council and other stakeholders on this exciting development. We look forward to fully engaging and working with parents, the community and with local schools to fully develop the plans for the new school. Our outstanding School of Education will play a key role in these developments.

“The university and its School of Education will create the new school’s governance and curriculum, and will lend its skills to ensure the school provides the best possible educational and learning environment for our young people.”

Paul Griffiths, Chief Executive of the University of Brighton Academies Trust, said: “I would like to thank the families of over 350 children who indicated their support for a new secondary school in the city. Working with partners, we look forward to realising our vision of providing outstanding educational opportunities for children from all backgrounds, as well as meeting the increased demand for secondary school places in the city.”

The chair of the council’s children, young people and skills committee, Councillor Tom Bewick, said: “With demand for secondary school places in the city due to increase over the coming years this is great news.

“We will continue to work with the University of Brighton and with our other secondary schools to ensure that there are enough secondary school places across the city to fulfil our duty to offer a place to all children resident in the city who request one.

“We will expect the new school to work in partnership with the wider family of schools across the city, as we look to provide our young people with the highest quality provision – whether that be traditional academic subjects or technical vocational education and high-quality apprenticeships.