WALTHAM FOREST: Rapid population growth prompts urgent expansion of schools

8:00am Saturday 16th February 2008

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A MAJOR primary school expansion programme has been drawn up in response to spiralling demand for places.

Ten schools have already agreed to take on an extra reception class this year as a temporary measure, and Waltham Forest Council is now consulting on plans to introduce ten permanent new entry forms over the next two academic years.

And yet more expansion will be needed if increasing demand is to be met beyond 2010.

There are currently 3,150 reception class places across Waltham Forest - but the council expects demand to leap to 3,334 by 2010/11, and to 3,544 the following year.

This means a deficit of almost 400 places, or 14 classes - and those figures don't take into account the effect of the borough's two major regeneration projects, in Walthamstow town centre and Blackhorse Road.

Among the schools being considered for expansion is Edinburgh Primary, which is earmarked to triple in size from one class per year group to three.

A spokeswoman for the council said the authority is funded per pupil so schools will be allocated more money depending on how many they teach.

However she admitted that not all the schools likely to expand will have enough space to build new classrooms, and that the council might need to look for new sites.

She also said that no figures are available for the number or proportion of reception class pupils born outside Britain, however the council puts the rise down to a mixture of increasing birth rate and migration.

Barn Croft, Stoneydown Park, St Saviour's and The Woodside schools in Walthamstow, and Davies Lane School in Leytonstone all took on one additional reception class last month.

The extra class will progress through each school but there are no current plans for a permanent additional form of entry.

The following five have agreed to take on one more class from September - Mayville and Willow Brook in Leyton, and St Mary's CE, Coppermill, and Edinburgh Schools in Walthamstow.

Governors are also being consulted on plans to permanently expand by one entry form each from September. The schools earmarked are Willow Brook, Mayville, and St Saviour's CE. Edinburgh School is being asked to consider tripling in size from one form of entry to three over the next two academic years.

Consultation has also started on plans to add an extra form of entry to St Helen's Infant and St Mary's Junior Catholic Schools in Walthamstow and Gwyn Jones in Leyton.