PARENTS, teachers, governors and pupils from five primary schools staged a rally against proposed cuts to admissions.
About a hundred people gathered at Hove Town Hall on Thursday to demonstrate against the city council's plans.
From 2023 seven primary schools in the east of the city are set to have their published admission number (Pan) reduced, some by up to half.
Representatives from five of them, Carden, Bevendean, Woodingdean, Rudyard Kipling and Coldean primary schools, stood in front of the town hall holding signs, chanting and listening to speeches.
Leila Erin-Jenkins, who organised the rally, said: "We want to show the council just how many people are against this and how many people don't want it to happen.
- READ MORE: Rally against PAN reductions at Brighton schools to take place at Hove Town Hall today
"We feel that the burden of Pan reductions should be shared across the city or they should not reduce the Pan at all, which is an option."
Leila believes that cutting the pupil admissions at Bevendean, Carden, Woodingdean, Rudyard Kipling, Queen's Park, Coldean and Saltdean primary schools will harm children's education due to the subsequent reduction in funding
Parent governor at Rudyard Kipling Michelle Eades said: "We need to put our children's needs first and it seems to me like the proposals the local authority are pushing are based on data not our children's needs.
"At our school 36 per cent of our children are Sen (special educational needs). We have a high proportion of Sen children at our school because we deliver excellent support and educational input for them."
Other people made speeches detailing the negative impact the cut to pupil admissions, and subsequently to funding, would have on the high number of disadvantaged children in the area.
Stuart Cager, parent governor at Bevendean, slammed the council for holding the six-week consultation period over Christmas when schools are closed.
MP for Kemptown Lloyd Russell-Moyle, who has six of the schools within his constituency, also spoke to the crowd.
He said: "Depriving our schools and areas of funding and resources, and the ability to get funding and resources, because that's what the reduction of Pan does, it prevents and limits the aspirations of schools. It will make things worse and not better.
"And does the council need to do this? No they don't, there is no requirement to reduce the Pan numbers, the requirement is to make sure schools are viable, are financially sound and that they plan for enough choice across the city. Reducing choice does not ensure that there is more choice."
The council's argument throughout the consultation is that the fall in birth rate will lead to half full classes, and that the decision will be made on a school-by-school basis.
Three schools - Bevendean, Carden and Woodingdean - submitted petitions against the cut, each with 1,250 signatures.
The consultation period began in mid November and will end on January 2 when the council will vote on the decision.
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