Bedelands Academy, Brookleigh, Burgess Hill

26 March 2024

Plans for new school in Burgess Hill take a step forward - West Sussex County Council

A new ‘all-through’ primary and secondary school is planned as part of the wider Burgess Hill, Brookleigh development (formerly known as Northern Arc), providing a high-quality education for new and existing residents in the 3,500-home development and across the local area.

The University of Brighton Academies Trust has been appointed by the Secretary of State for Education to operate the new Bedelands Academy School.

West Sussex County Council is funding and developing the secondary phase of the new school and has received a financial contribution of £18.159m from Homes England, the master developer of Brookleigh. The primary phase of the school is being created separately by Homes England.

The new secondary phase school building will include all the facilities recommended by the Department for Education for a school of this size, including a dedicated Special Support Centre.

In line with the ambitions of our Climate Change Strategy 2020-2030 the new secondary phase school building aims to be the first school in West Sussex to achieve ‘Passivhaus’ certification. This is the highest standard of energy efficiency a building can reach, reflecting ultra-low operating carbon emissions, with a focus on energy efficiency and insulation.

The ambitious design will also enable the school to generate its own renewable energy on site without using any fossil fuels.

One of the main design principles has also been to develop a building that sits sympathetically within the rich natural landscape of the site, which already includes hedgerows, mature oak trees and habitat areas for dormice and bats, which are all being retained and enhanced.

The landscape design balances the need for compliant sports pitches, parking, and accessible access throughout the school site with sustainable, natural drainage solutions, further tree-planting and inspiring outdoor learning areas.

A reserved matters planning application was submitted to Mid Sussex District Council Planning Authority in August 2022. The plans can be viewed on Mid Sussex District Council's planning portal.

Mid Sussex District Council Planning Committee subsequently granted full planning permission on 15 December 2022.

Keep up to date with progress on the wider development on Homes England's Brookleigh webpages.