The council plans to consult on cutting Brunswick Primary's yearly intake from 90 to 60 and Coldean Primary's from 60 to 30 from September 2028.

Two Brighton & Hove primary schools would admit fewer children each year from September 2028, under plans going to the council’s Cabinet. Parents would have seven weeks to comment.

Cabinet is asked on Thursday 12 November to approve a public consultation on the city’s 2028-29 school admission arrangements. These are the only two admission numbers it proposes to cut:

  • Brunswick Primary School, Hove: from 90 to 60 pupils a year
  • Coldean Primary School, Brighton: from 60 to 30 pupils a year

Both changes continue reductions already in place. The schools adjudicator already set Brunswick’s number at 60 for 2026 and 2027. Coldean’s was cut to 30 for 2027 after a successful request to vary it.

Why the numbers are falling

The report says the aim is to match places to demand. Schools are funded largely per pupil, and nearly all of that money pays for staff. Infant classes cannot have more than 30 pupils to one teacher, so a half-empty class still costs a teacher.

Officers say a planned cut lets a school organise staffing and balance its budget. Both governing boards support the proposals. The council approached other schools too: where a governing board did not agree, the council followed its wishes.

The report accepts a cost to families. It says the cuts “could reduce parental preference options in some areas of the city”. It also says pupil forecasts show there will still be enough places across the city.

The dates

  • 23 November 2026: consultation opens, if Cabinet agrees
  • 10 January 2027: consultation closes
  • 11 February 2027: Cabinet receives the responses and a recommendation
  • 28 February 2027: legal deadline for setting the arrangements
  • 15 May 2027: deadline for objections to the schools adjudicator

No other changes, beyond the wording already ordered

Cabinet is asked to make no other changes. It will note the adjudicator’s October ruling on secondary admissions, whose wording on free school meals stays in place for September 2028. That priority now applies only to children eligible for targeted free school meals, the kind that attracts pupil premium funding. There is no consultation on that change, though responses can comment on any part of the arrangements.

What it means for you

These numbers affect children starting Reception in September 2028, most of whom are now toddlers. If your child is due to start that year and either school is your likely choice, the consultation is your chance to comment.

The numbers apply to new intakes. The report does not say that either school is at risk of closing.

We will link the consultation here when it opens.