A grassroots campaign for change
Class Divide are a grassroots organisation with a mission to create a socially inclusive education system in Brighton and Hove.
Established in 2019, they began actively campaigning within their local community of East Brighton to raise awareness of the problems with school admissions and what needed to change in order to make the system fairer.
Their campaigning efforts have already contributed to huge policy change on school admissions in the region. In January 2024, the Children, Young People, and Schools committee of Brighton & Hove City Council voted to approve the creation of a new priority group – children eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) – in the secondary school admissions process. This means that local authority secondary schools will give admissions priority to children eligible for FSM, up to the city average.
Brighton & Hove, East Sussex.
Taking effect in September 2025, this move will help to create a more inclusive school system. It is believed that Brighton & Hove is the first council to enact this change.
In their podcast series, Class Divide campaigners discuss why the fairer school admissions is so important, the impact of high-quality education on local residents, and the problems people can encounter when they do not have access to a good education.