Eastbourne schools could be merged amid public consultation

East Sussex County Council is proposing to combine West Rise Community Infant School and West Rise Junior School to become a primary school.

If these proposals go ahead, the council also plans to change the primary school’s age range to two – 11, to take on the management of the West Rise Nursery.

A public consultation is currently open to pupils, parents and carers, staff, trade unions, members of both governing boards, the school community, and stakeholders, and is set to close on May 24.

West Rise Community Infant School and West Rise Junior School are two separate schools which share the same site but worked independently until recently.

Since January 2024, the schools have been ‘working in partnership’, with one of the infant co-heads acting as headteacher across both schools.

It comes after an Ofsted inspection, conducted in July 2023, found the junior school ‘required improvement’.

A spokesperson for ESCC said: “The local authority is keen to further support this partnership working through the formal amalgamation of the two schools.

"Governors of both schools want to sustain the improvements that are being made and ensure a strong future for the school community.”

If the proposal is approved, West Rise Junior School would close on December 31, 2024, and West Rise Community Infant School would change its age range on January 1, 2025 to become an ‘all-through’ primary school with nursery provision.

For full details about the consultation, visit: https://consultation.eastsussex.gov.uk/childrens-services/consultation-on-a-proposal-to-make-a-significant-c/