Council to go ahead with school closures
Teachers at two primary schools in Sussex have voted in favour of strike action over the closures
Councillors have voted in favour of closing two primary schools in Sussex, with the plans looking set to go ahead.
On Monday evening, councillors decided to proceed with plans to close St Peter's in Portslade and St Bartholomew's in Brighton, during a 5 hour meeting.
Teachers at both schools have already voted to take industrial action.
Brighton & Hove City councillor Jacob Taylor said: "We have decided with great regret and sadness to proceed with the proposals".
Previously, the council said it is dealing with a huge predicted surplus of school places, with an estimate it will reach 832 by 2027.
Six other schools in the city have also been asked to shrink their intakes.
Katie Blood, headteacher at St Bartholomew’s told Greatest Hits Radio:
"Our main focus is the children, we want to make sure the best thing happens for them.
"We would like to do this in the best way possible which is what we said to the council a number of times and offered to compromise and work with them.
"Unfortunately, nothing has been listened to".
Speaking after the decision, Green councillor Chloë Goldsmith said: "I am appalled that in the face of such strong opposition to their school closure plans, Labour councillors could not bring it upon themselves to even consider exploring a set of alternatives".
The council now has two more meetings in February and March concerning how to take the plans forward, but said it intends to close the schools at the end of the academic year.