Ex-Councillor May Quit Brighton Green Party Over School Place

A former councillor said that he plans to resign from his political party after his granddaughter was one of nine children who failed to secure a place at her chosen secondary school.

Dick Page, who represented Hanover and Elm Grove for the Green Party from 2015 to 2019, is angry that his granddaughter has failed to secure a place at Varndean Secondary School in September, as she wanted to go there with her friends.

It was her only choice on the secondary school admission form but she was allocated a place at the Brighton Aldridge Community Academy (BACA) instead.

Her older sister was among the “misplaced” pupils in 2017 who did not initially secure a place at any of their three preferred secondary schools.

That year, three schools – Blatchington Mill in Hove and Dorothy Stringer and Varndean in Brighton – introduced bulge classes of 30 to absorb the additional numbers, and she secured a place at Varndean.

However, as his older granddaughter leaves Varndean this summer, Mr Page’s younger granddaughter does not benefit from a sibling link.

Mr Page said that Brighton and Hove City Council could make room at Dorothy Stringer and Varndean for the nine youngsters who put one of the schools on their application and did not secure a place despite living in the catchment area.

He was outraged when the council announced no “misplaced” children in this year’s intake at Varndean and Dorothy Stringer after the two schools found space for an extra 29 pupils who had applied to both schools and lived in the catchment area.

This was a contrast to last year when 62 youngsters were “misplaced” and neither Dorothy Stringer nor Varndean had the space for a “bulge” class.

Mr Page said:

“Our girl is just one case. It is upsetting for her. It’s frustrating the council is not admitting some children are misplaced.

“I do feel the Green councillors could have said ‘find a way’ of finding the odd small number of places by giving Varndean and Stringer a bit more funding to help with that. They could make it happen.

“Then they could say they looked after all the children this year and it’s the last year they expect to have a bulge.”

Mr Page said that his granddaughter had refused to put any other school on her application form because she wanted to go to Varndean.

He said that the guidance did not tell parents that they must use all three of their preferences and, besides, not everyone reads the instruction booklet.

Mr Page added:

“The decision to look after most of the children who didn’t have a place after the usual process is not in the rules booklet.

“If they can’t do that for the remaining few children and not spoil their secondary education, it’s a resigning matter.

“If you can’t look after the children in your own city, then it’s no good talking about human rights, trans rights and global justice.”

The Green Party said:

“We are sorry to hear that a Green Party member is unhappy with the school place his granddaughter has been offered and to hear that he intends to leave the party as a result.

“However, unlike other parties, we believe the rules should apply equally to everyone, rather than depending on who you know.

“Individual school applications are not determined by councillors, and if families are unhappy with the school place they have been offered, then they have a right of appeal.

“In this case, we understand the applicant failed to follow the guidance for completing the form. We would advise all parents to maximise the chances of their children obtaining a place at one of their preferred options by naming their three preferred schools.”

The council said:

“Our published guidance makes it absolutely clear that only putting one school down as a preference does not increase the chances of being allocated that school.

“It says: ‘Use all three preferences. You could disadvantage yourself if you don’t use your opportunity to express a preference for three schools.’

“All but a tiny minority of parents follow this advice and put three preferences down.

“This gives them greater control over which school they may be allocated a place at if a place at their first/only preference school isn’t available.

“Everyone who applied within the deadline for places for September 2022 and selected their catchment area school or schools among their three preferences was offered a place at one of their preferred schools.”