Recommendations: Good State Schools in Brighton/Hove

[cbcole]

Hello all,

We are considering a move to the Brighton/Hove area, coming from overseas. We have a daughter who would be transferring into secondary school and a son going into primary school. We are looking into real estate in the area and would like to focus on areas with strong state schools. Does anyone based in the area have recommendations or resources can share?

Grateful for your thoughts.

CBC

What you want is this map: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:EU:06b906fe-126e-468b-93dc-c41d0b0539a0

Varndean and Dorothy Stringer are the middle class secondaries with strongest results - if you are in catchment it's a lottery and you get one or other. Both great.

In that catchment - and in Brighton generally I think - all the primary schools are great. Balfour and Downs are the big middle class feeding schools for Varndean and Stringer. But there are tons of other great primary schools with more mixed intakes and I think more nurturing, better with SEN, better with kids with difference, preventing bullying etc.

Worth looking at council website and looking at Ofsted - read the report and think about whether the things they are not so good at matters to you.

@cbcole the reference to "middle class secondaries" in the previous post is unfortunate, and may take some explanation to someone coming from abroad.

Many UK schools manage oversubscription by prioritising admissions by distance. So if one school gets a slightly better reputation than another, people may move nearby (just as you are considering doing). Over time, the demand for nearby properties causes prices to rise, so that only wealthier people can afford to live close to the school. Because this is England, some people refer to these people as "middle class", but it's a crude use of the term. They should say something like "relatively wealthy" instead.

There isn't a direct correlation between wealth and class - you can be middle class and relatively poor, and you can be working class and relatively rich. Class is a vague concept, with varying definitions, but is as much to do with your education and family background as it is to do with your financial circumstances.

Anyway, back to schools. Not all schools prioritise admissions by distance. Some schools use other criteria, e.g. faith schools may use proof of church attendance. You need to look at the admissions policy for every school of interest - it will be on their website - to see how they prioritise.

I have friends with children at King's School, Hove, which I believe prioritises 50% by church attendance and also uses distance. They are atheists, but they are very happy with the school - they say it is very inclusive.and their children are doing very well there.

@cbcole I dont know the schools in the Brighton area, im afraid, but when you say that your DD would be transferring into secondary school, do you mean that she is still of primary school age now and you will be moving to the UK in time to make an on time application for year 7 entry (so by 31st October this year to start year 7 in September 2025, or by 31st October 2025 to start year 7 in September 2026 etc)? Or that she is already of secondary school age and you will be looking for a mid-year place (that is, entry at any time other than the normal point of entry, in the case of secondary schools, year 7)?

If the latter, you will be dependent on where there are places available - you could move in next door to the most desirable school in the area, but your DD will not get a place if the year group is full. Your home local authority will find a place for her, but it won't necessarily be the school that you (have been told that you should) want. That being said, waiting lists for state schools must be ranked according to the oversubscription criteria used by the individual school, so if 'proximity' is the next criterion after the legally-required 'looked after and previously looked after children', living next door to the desired school should give a very good chance of your an applicant finding themselves at the top of the list if a place does come up.

Thanks for this @MarchingFrogs. To clarify, my daughter is nearly 12 now but in school here in the US. We have been thinking of a move during the summer before the school year starts. But you being up an important point re: timing of our move. So, a follow up question: when do schools determine and finalize each year’s cohort? By when would we need to move to have our kids considered for the next year’s cohort at their local state school?

Thanks again very much

@tremenduss Thanks for this very thoughtful post. I appreciate the delineations you’re pointing out re: class, and understand the phenomenon of being “priced out” of neighborhoods that track to good schools. It is a concern to be sure. In fact we had been thinking of areas not in Brighton proper so as to seek more affordable areas. But… yes, schools. I’m not sure how to navigate it just yet but it’s good that you offer the reminder.

@TheSeagullsSquawk this is hugely helpful, thanks very much. I’ll be studying this map for a while, I anticipate!

@cbcole , if your daughter is currently aged 11 on 1st September 2024 then if you move to the uk before next September she will be going into Year 7 and it will be an in year transfer at any state school in England. Year 7 is the hardest year to find a space because the year group is full at the start of the year so you are reliant on someone leaving and there not being a waiting list.

If you are open to Hove schools, then Kings High School is excellent. Good luck with the more.

Feel free to DM me if you need any local info.

Thanks @tennissquare. I want to make sure I'm understanding you-- are you saying that there are scenarios where children move to an area and cannot find placement in any state school? Would the state allow a child to go without schooling? (In the US, a child is automatically given a place at their local school even if they arrive in the middle of a school year, so this is new to me and something I want to make sure I'm tracking the implications of fully.)

Thanks again

You will be given a school place and transport to the school if it is not local but you won't have a choice and if you decline the state school offer your options are homeschooling or the private school system. You need to join some Facebook groups for families moving from the US to the U.K.

@cbcole once you are in the area with a verifiable address, then the local authority will find your DC school places if you have no luck applying yourself / if none of the schools you ask them to try has a place (you have to consult the relevant LA'S website for its specific procedures). Before that, you can apply, but will only be offered a place if a school you apply to has one available. And yes, you cam apply from abroad, but the LA won't find a place (as in the first scenario) until you are resident in its area.

Normally for a September start in year 8 etc, you would only be able to apply from the late May half term holiday. Ditto the respective other terms.

Varndean High School is exceptional with strong academics ( esp. considering it's non-selective and the catchment covers a wide socio-economic area) a huge selection ( 100+) free extracurricular clubs, a strong but thoughtful, forward thinking headteacher, wonderful pastoral care. Cannot recommend it highly enough. The comms from school are open and excellent, children are treated with respect and their behaviour is the best I've seen in any of the schools.
They have very good sports teams & programmes, music programmes & opps, a beautiful library, and highly motivated, supportive teaching and support staff. Not to mention good sports facilities and lots of outdoor space.

Dorothy Stringer used to be 'the' school everyone wanted a few years ago, but although their results are consistent, they are having problems with behaviour and bullying, and their communication to families is very poor.

Blatchington Mill is fairly good, King's is getting a great reputation but it's a church school and they are VERY churchy! Ans small, so you need to be from a church feeder primary really to get a place.
Cardinal Newman - it's catholic, and MASSIVE. Too big IMHO but not as RE focussed as King's... Hove Park - ok, PACA - ok and improving, Patcham - ok.
Longhill -avoid, just read the latest OFSTED, BACA - read the OFSTED and avoid.

If I was just moving here with a secondary aged child I'd make sure I was in the Varndean/Stringer catchment if at all possible. It's actually very wide and despite the Middle Class rep does cover socio housing areas too so it's a good mix of children from different backgrounds.

Not quite. You choose 3 schools within your catchment area and usually get 1 of those. But if (doesn't often happen in Brighton) none of the choices are available you'll be offered a school where there are places available - Longhill for example has room.
So while we got or 1st choice school, it could have been just as likely the 2nd place. And there's no point in putting down a choice out of the catchment area because you definitely won't get that.

I don't know anyone though who didn't get their 1st or 2nd choice in the city when they applied for Year 7 spots. A couple got 3rd choice initially but by the start of the school year a place in 1 or 2 choice came free - because there are a lot of private schools in the county. So people apply for the free state place anyway, have it allocated but then decide not to take it up leaving a free spot ...

Moving mid-year can be trickier if the school is full you'll be waiting for a child to leave. There is movement though, people do move, move cities or countries, Brighton & Hove is very diverse by nationality so that equates to children coming and going more than some cities.

Thanks very much, this is hugely helpful!

@Gogosmarty This is such helpful intel-- thank you! Putting it to good use...