Lea County Primary School will have an extra reception class in September 2020 to accommodate growing demand for places.

Lancashire County Council’s cabinet has agreed to a temporary increase in school places at the school in Greaves Town Lane school after a surge in applications.

At a meeting on Thursday 6 February, the main recommendations agreed by Cabinet were to:

• Approve a temporary increase, for one year only, in the Reception intake of Lea Community Primary School in north west Preston, from 30 to 60 pupil places for September 2020, to be accommodated within the existing building.

• Approve the expenditure in order to make internal alterations to the building to accommodate additional numbers.

The school needs to expand to meet an increased demand for school places in the area.

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The alterations at the school will create an additional Reception classroom, which will have direct access to a play area. Another room that is currently used for ICT will also be made into a classroom.

County Councillor Phillippa Williamson, Cabinet Member for children, young people and schools, said: “The county council is responsible for making sure that there are enough school places to meet the demand.

“We are constantly reviewing changing demographic factors to make sure the number and location of the school places we provide meet the needs to communities throughout Lancashire.

“We know that there is a definite short-term need for some additional primary places in this part of the county.”

The provision of the places on a temporary basis will be kept under review. The need to provide the places on a permanent basis is currently not evidenced, because of a fall in the birth rate and the pace of housing development that is taking place in the area.

There are also a number of schools nearby that are expected to have available capacity in the future.

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