The schools adjudicator upheld Brighton's new sibling link but ruled the 30% free school meals figure and the waiting list rules must change by 31 October.

The schools adjudicator has ordered Brighton & Hove City Council to rewrite parts of its secondary admission rules for September 2027, a week before applications close. The council has until 31 October 2026 to publish the revised rules. That is also the closing date for applications.

The ruling is mixed. The adjudicator, David Holland, rejected the main complaint, about the council’s new sibling rule, and that rule stays. He upheld complaints about the free school meals priority and about how waiting lists work. Both have to change.

His decision is dated 19 October 2026 and covers four complaints, three from objectors and one from a parent (Office of the Schools Adjudicator, ADA4622, ADA4631, ADA4633 and REF4730). The council published its response on 22 October (Brighton & Hove City Council, 22 October 2026).

What stays

The sibling link for every family. Until now a younger child got sibling priority only if the family lived in the school’s catchment area. From 2027 that priority applies wherever the family lives. Objectors argued this would push catchment children out, especially poorer children and families in the Dorothy Stringer and Varndean catchment.

The council’s own modelling, quoted in the ruling, estimated that up to 32 children in the Patcham High School catchment and up to 20 in the Dorothy Stringer and Varndean catchment might not get a place at their catchment school on offer day. The adjudicator accepted that some children would be displaced. He found the evidence did not show unfair disadvantage. Keeping brothers and sisters at the same school was, he ruled, a benefit strong enough to justify the rule.

The 5% open admissions rule. A parent complained that children in the Dorothy Stringer and Varndean catchment cannot use it to get into Patcham High. The adjudicator said this repeated issues his office had already decided in 2025, so he could not rule on it.

What has to change

  • Free school meals priority now means “targeted” free school meals only. Since September 2026 there have been two kinds of eligibility. “Targeted” covers the existing lower-income group, including the £7,400 earnings threshold. “Expanded” covers other families on Universal Credit. Only targeted eligibility brings pupil premium funding, and the national admissions code allows priority only on that basis. The ruling says the published rules did not make clear which group they meant.
  • The 30% figure goes. The rules said the city average would “be taken as 30%”. The adjudicator found that figure no longer reflects city-wide eligibility after the national change. The council told him that only 56% of pupils previously eligible under the free school meals criteria are eligible for targeted meals.
  • No more automatic loss of an accepted place. The rules said that if a child was offered a place from a waiting list, the place they already held would be withdrawn. The adjudicator ruled that a validly accepted offer cannot be withdrawn on those grounds.
  • Waiting lists must not be opt-in. He found that children refused a place at an oversubscribed school should go onto its waiting list automatically unless the parent says otherwise.
  • A wrong date in the sibling note. The rules referred to a sibling attending “in September 2026”. The council told the adjudicator this was a typing error for September 2027.

He also found that the council had not published how to complain to the adjudicator by the 15 March deadline. The council accepted this.

What the free school meals change means in numbers

The council says it will now offer places through the free school meals priorities up to the city’s average rate of targeted free school meals. That figure will come from the autumn school census, which is being carried out now. It has not been published.

The three community schools that list places by priority show how many children got in this way in September 2026, under the old rules. The council’s admissions guide gives the figures:

Bar chart of places offered through the two free school meals priorities for September 2026: Dorothy Stringer 67, Varndean 66, Blatchington Mill 59.
Chart by The Brighton Times
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School Free school meals, in catchment Free school meals, out of catchment Total Published admission number 2027
Dorothy Stringer 35 32 67 330
Varndean 61 5 66 300
Blatchington Mill 45 14 59 330

Source: Secondary school admissions guide 2027 to 2028, Brighton & Hove City Council.

A lower city average would mean fewer places set aside under these two priorities from 2027. How many fewer depends on the census figure.

Councillor Jacob Taylor, deputy leader of the council, said: “We welcome the adjudicator’s decisions and are pleased that our approach to expanding the sibling link for all pupils regardless of catchment area has been upheld.”

He added: “The way free school meals are allocated changed after we announced this policy, and we agree that our admissions must reflect the national system.” He said the council would also review how it manages pupils on secondary waiting lists, and would amend its arrangements by 31 October.

What it means for you

  • The closing date has not moved. Applications close at midnight on 31 October 2026. Offers are made on 1 March 2027.
  • Nothing in the ruling or the council’s statement asks families to resubmit. The council has said it will clarify any changes and update its website once they are final.
  • If you are claiming free school meals priority, check whether your child is eligible for targeted free school meals, not only for meals. On 24 October the council’s admissions guide already said “Only pupils eligible for Targeted FSM will qualify under this priority”. It still gave the city average as 30%.
  • If you are counting on a sibling link from outside catchment, that rule survives in full.
  • If you are offered a waiting list place next year, you should not lose the school place you already accepted. The council has to rewrite that rule.
  • Check the admissions guide again after 31 October for the revised rules and the new percentage.

Our earlier explainer, Brighton school places close 31 October, covers catchment changes and last year’s offer rates. For other practical information, see council tax bands and bin collection days.

Sources