Three primary schools are set to be taken under the wing of a university to become academies.

Three primary schools in St Leonards and Hastings have requested the University of Brighton’s backing as lead sponsor to gain academy status.

Dudley Infant School, West St Leonards Primary and Elphinstone Primary have taken the first steps to join The Hastings and St Leonards Academies Trust which is already responsible for The Hastings Academy and The St Leonards Academy.

Along with the University of Brighton, communications giant BT and East Sussex County Council are already co-sponsors of the academies trust.

Parents, staff and other affected parties will be consulted by the governing bodies of the three schools before a final decision is made.

The proposals would also require the green light from the Department for Education.

The academies would still be state-funded, would continue to serve their existing communities and would be bound by the same rules on admissions, special educational needs and exclusions as all other state-funded schools.

The University of Brighton has a long history of working with schools in the area, having been a partner of Sussex Coast College Hastings, formerly Hastings College of Arts and Technology, for more than 20 years.

Professor Julian Crampton, the vice-chancellor of the University of Brighton, said: “It has to be stressed that these three schools are already successful.

“However, we believe that becoming academies will make a real difference to the schools and their pupils.

“The rationale for working with the three schools is to provide opportunities for sharing good practice and working together to make further improvements to children’s educational achievements.”

Joanne McCarron-Charles, the headteacher at Dudley Infants, said: “During our recent inspection, the lead inspector indicated that we were well on our way to outstanding.”

Frances Robinson, the headteacher at West St Leonards Primary, said: “We want the best for our community.

“This means that we need to work with skilled providers of training and support whilst taking advantage of the curriculum freedoms given to academies.”

Consultation events for parents, carers and other affected parties will be held on Tuesday, June 4 from 6.30pm at West St Leonards and at Elphinstone Primary the next day from 6.30pm.