Release date: 2 September 2025
West Sussex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Learning has responded comprehensively to questions raised by Alison Bennett MP on the decision to pause plans to build the new Bedelands Academy secondary school in Burgess Hill.
Councillor Jacquie Russell has provided the latest information available to the county council, which shows the current and predicted demand for secondary school places is not sufficient to build the new school at this time.
She reiterated her commitment to reviewing the data during the next two years.
Cllr Russell said: “The decision taken to pause plans to build the new Bedelands Academy is exactly that – a pause. If and when the evidence demonstrates there is sufficient demand for places to require the building of a new school on the Brookleigh development, then that is what we will do.
“I recognise my decision may have been disappointing to some, but I stand by it as the right thing to do.
“We have a duty to council taxpayers to ensure we make the best use of our resources and the money available to us, as well as safeguarding the ongoing sustainability of existing schools.
“As I have made clear before, this is not a matter of political gamesmanship. It is about doing what is best for people in West Sussex. My response to Alison clearly outlines the evidence that supports my decision.
“I welcome Alison’s keen interest in our secondary education plans for her constituents. Her influence in parliament would be welcomed to ensure children and young people in Burgess Hill, and across West Sussex, receive a good education. However, I ask that she allows us the opportunity to answer her questions before causing any unnecessary speculation by airing them publicly.”
The decision has received support from the academy trust that operates The Burgess Hill Academy, which will deliver additional capacity to meet the demand for secondary school places in Burgess Hill.
Mark Blackman, Interim leader of the University of Brighton Academies Trust, said: “The decision by the council to pause the work on the secondary element of the Bedelands project, in the light of lower than expected numbers of children, will allow for consolidation of the educational provision in the area. The Burgess Hill Academy leadership is looking forward to working with the council on the enhanced provision needed to accommodate extra classes from September 2026.”
Notes to editors:
The following is Cllr Russell’s response to Alison Bennett MP in full:
Dear Alison,
Thank you for your email dated 8th August 2025 and my apologies for the delay in response.
The information I have provided you with below illustrates why the decision to pause the development has been taken, which is wholly due to the fact that the original projected demand for school places has not materialised. In short, to build either a new 6 form entry or 4 form entry school in the vicinity of existing schools in a climate where pupil numbers across the county are already falling, amidst the backdrop of a falling birthrate, would not be a prudent use of public funds at this time, and would in turn threaten the viability of neighbouring schools who would without doubt be impacted by the over-capacity of school places in the area.
Pupil numbers
You have asked for information on what the overall picture looks like in the short and medium term; I enclose information concerning pupil projections for South Central Mid Sussex Secondary Schools. These have also been shared with Mid Sussex District Council (MSDC), thus I am mindful you may have already seen these figures in your capacity as a prominent member of the controlling administration at MSDC. These projections were updated in June this year and include estimated pupil numbers from permitted housing developments, as per the housing trajectory provided by MSDC. You may be aware that MSDC feel we should also include estimated pupil numbers that are included in their local plan, alongside those included in their Reg.19, but following discussions with the DfE Place Planning Team, we do not include these in our alternative projections.
The current collective Published Admissions Number (PAN) across schools in the area is 1,230. The projected year 7 intake from 25/26 to 29/30 is as follows:
Projected Year 7 intake:
25/26 – 1222
26/27 – 1293
27/28 – 1263
28/29 – 1312
29/30 – 1298
If we commenced the build of a 6-form entry school at this time, this would increase the PAN from 1,230 to 1,410 for Year 7.
Using the projected figures above, this would give us a significant surplus of places over the coming years as follows:
Projected number Surplus places
25/26 – 1222 188
26/27 – 1293 117
27/28 – 1263 147
28/29 – 1312 98
29/30 – 1298 112
Similarly, if we commenced the build of a 4 Form Entry school at this time, this would increase the PAN from 1,230 to 1,350.
Using the projected figures above, this would give us a significant surplus of places over the coming years as follows:
Projected number Surplus places
25/26 – 1222 128
26/27 – 1293 57
27/28 – 1263 87
28/29 - 1312 38
29/30 – 1298 52
Therefore to build another secondary school in Burgess Hill at this time, would create a significant over-capacity of places in the area and would, in turn, threaten the viability of other local schools in the area such as The Burgess Hill Academy (TBHA) which has a PAN of 240 but has only managed to fill 175 places this year, thus is significantly undersubscribed with 65 places available. Plans are on track to deliver an additional 90 places at TBHA (if required) from September 2026 through S106 contributions approved for this project. In addition, the Education team will be picking up conversations with all headteachers of current secondaries in September to discuss options for September 2027 and 2028.
Financial situation
In terms of your specific financial questions, I have sought to collectively summarise them and would start by saying again, that the decision to pause the build of a new school, has been taken due to the projected demand for places in the area not having materialised and not due to any lack of funds available. In terms of the detailed question around current spend, I am not able to share this information with you for commercially sensitive reasons. Similarly, I cannot provide you with a projected cost of any future build at this point, as that would be dependent upon the outcome of a review of pupil numbers and future demand. However, I can confirm that as stated in our press release, funding already allocated to the project by the county council, which consists of S106 contributions and basic need grant funding, remains secured for the development and build of the school as and when the need arises.
The site
In terms of the 15 year option on the land; as I am sure you are aware, the county council is under no obligation to take over the land until the 25th house is occupied and the site has been prepared ready for handover as per the terms and conditions of the S106 agreement between Homes England and the county council.
The current cumulative projected figure for housing completions provided by Homes England as of 23/04/25 stood at 279. The data we received directly from Homes England as of 21/08/2025 illustrates that Homes England continue to fall way short of their projections, with a total of 209 actual completions across Phases 1A and 1B as follows:
Phase 1A – Freeks Farm/Oakhurst-Countryside/Vistry – 149 completions (this development is outside of the Brookleigh development/S106 agreement)
Phase 1B – Fallow Wood View/Bellway (part of Brookleigh) – 60 completions (of which Homes England are saying 25 or more are now occupied).
To clarify; whilst both developments are factored into our pupil projections, the trigger point to commence the 15 year-option on the land relates solely to Phase 1B.
Looking at Homes England’s historic projected build figures, it would appear they have been continually and substantially downgraded since 2022 - where the 2022 cumulative completion projected figure for March 24/25 stood at 789. To date, they continue to fall short of their housing projections, the impact of which further exacerbates the position with respect to lack of demand for secondary school places in the area.
In terms of timescales with respect to the secondary school site transfer; until such time as all terms and conditions of the S106 agreement have been met we are not in a position to serve the Secondary School Site Notice and trigger the 15 year option. With respect to the potential to extend the 15-year option once triggered, any extension would require a discussion with MSDC and Homes England to vary the S106 agreement. This element is not in our gift.
I trust this clarifies our position.
Kind regards,
Jacquie
