Plans to formally merge two Hailsham primary schools are set to go in front of a senior county councillor next week.
On Thursday (May 23), Cllr Bob Standley, East Sussex County Council’s lead member for education, is set to consider a request to amalgamate Burfield Academy with Phoenix Academy.
The two schools, which are both part of the Step Academy Trust, are already sharing a single site in Marshfoot Lane. This co-location was initially introduced in September 2023 to allow for extensive remedial works to be carried out to the Burfield Academy building in Oaklands Way.
Following this, the academy trust had sought permission to change the drop-off arrangements at the Oaklands Way site, removing a so-called “kiss and drop” facility from the school’s entrance. The trust said this request was due to health and safety concerns.
But the county council refused this planning permission, saying the academy trust had not provided enough information to justify the change or show it would ‘not give rise to increased hazards’.
The trust criticised this decision, arguing it had left the site “operationally unsuitable for use as a primary school”. The county council disputes this, saying it may have been possible to find an alternative solution with further work.
Either way, the academy trust is now seeking permission to amalgamate the two schools, effectively closing down Burfield Academy.
As academy schools, the Department for Education will be the ultimate decision maker on whether the trust’s request can move ahead. Cllr Standley is only being asked to approve the council’s response to the proposals, with officers recommending the authority not to put forward any objections.
In a report to Cllr Standley, a council officer said: “The proposed amalgamation of the two schools, and the subsequent reduction in capacity in the area, would be unlikely to put pressure on school places in the short term.
“The proposal will mean that instead of two schools with low numbers there will be one school with pupil numbers close to their Published Admissions Number (PAN). This is likely to provide educational benefits to pupils, due to the trust being able to provide a greater breadth of curriculum, pupil support and extracurricular opportunities.
“The planning issue with regard to the ‘kiss and drop’ facility is seen by the local authority as a catalyst for the merger proposal and not a major reason in itself.
“On the basis of the projected pupil numbers in Hailsham and surrounding areas, the local authority does not object to the proposed merger.”
The report goes on to say that the amalgamation would effectively lead to a reduction of 210 primary school places in Hailsham and surrounding area. Even so, officers say there would still be sufficient places to meet demand “until at least the end of the School Organisation Plan period and quite possibly to the end of the decade”.
According to the county council, the trust has also confirmed that all children currently on roll at Burfield Academy and Phoenix Academy would be offered a place at the new amalgamated school if the proposal moves ahead.
