The reason why Brighton and Hove faces an imminent crisis in secondary school places is the point blank refusal of the Green administration to engage with any academy providers to encourage them to set up in the city.

Their heads have remained resolutely in the sand as this completely predictable shortage loomed.

Labour agreed to engage with academies as long as they were endorsed by or run by the Co-op.

Local Conservatives have consistently argued for a diverse range of good schools in the city in locations such as King’s House.

Had the council worked imaginatively and engaged constructively with the academy movement, parents would not be facing the uncertainty of catchment area reviews, four-year-old children directed and bussed across the city and a disgraceful gap in the performance of underprivileged children compared with their better-off peers.

Councillor Andrew Wealls, Conservative, Central Hove ward, Brighton and Hove City Council