Campaigners for a new Hove primary say they feel they are being punished for the failings of an unrelated school as Government officials reject their application for a second time.

The team behind a proposed Montessori Primary School in Hove say they are having to work even harder to convince Government officials to give them the green light after the high-profile problems at the Discovery New School in Crawley, which is facing closure.

The team behind the new school in Hove learned late last week that their bid had failed after previously being knocked back in June 2013.

Now organisers are hoping it will be third time lucky when they reapply in May to allow the school to open in September next year.

Campaigners say they have identified a site where there is allocation for a school at a derelict factory site in Newtown Road and say this goes beyond the requirements of the Government applications.

If the school is given the go-ahead, it will open with three classes for three-to-six-year-olds and three classes of six-to-nine-year-olds.

The school is also oversubscribed with more than 200 families registering for the school which would open with a 150 pupil capacity.

Cath Odhayward, from the Montessori Free School team, said: “It is harder for us because of what has happened at Discovery even though we are not linked in any way at all. Ministers are concerned so our bid will have to be stronger.

“Montessori is very variable and anybody can use the name and there are some schools that are really Montesomethings which is really confusing for parents.”

For more details visit www.facebook.com/MontessoriFreeSchool.