Closure of East Sussex primary school to move ahead

On Monday (September 11), Cllr Bob Standley, East Sussex County Council’s lead member for education, agreed to move ahead with the formal process of closing Holy Cross Church of England Primary School in Belmont Road.

As a result, the council is expected to issue a statutory proposal later this month with the school likely to permanently close its doors in December following a final round of consultations.

The closure comes as the school’s pupil numbers have fallen below a ‘viable’ level. On paper, the school is supposed to have space for up to 210 pupils, but only had 26 children on its roll at the last school census in May.

Cllr Standley said: “It’s not just about viability … it’s about quality of education. You can’t provide that in a school, which even a few weeks ago only had 30 students.”

He added: “It is heart-wrenching in many ways. It is difficult for parents and it is actually emotional for people who used to go to the school; people are attached to their school. I know there has been a fair amount of comment on it.

“But as I said, it is about quality of education and it is not sustainable and it hasn’t been.”

The decision follows on from a six-week formal consultation on the plans over the summer, which generated 41 responses from parents, pupils, staff, and other interested parties. Of these, 71 per cent (29 respondents) opposed the school’s closure.

These figures appeared in a council report, which goes on to set out how other schools in Uckfield