New schools

There could be nothing as easy as predicting the number of school places required in five years time; or at least you would think that would be the case. Simply count the number of live births, make a minor adjustment for incomers and hey - we will need that many places.

For some inexplicable reason we are going to be short of school places from next September and an amazing 800,000 places short by September 2020. That's 2,000 new schools required over the next four years or to put it another way two every working day!

Predictions by Local Authorities are that there will be 792,000 additional pupils spread across an estimated 1,744 primary schools and 378 secondary schools. Uncertainty between Local Authorities (who need to provide the schools) and the Government (who decide who will run them) has contributed to the indecision and delay.

The East of England (population 6 million) will have 90,000 new pupils and require 267 new schools (222 primary and 45 secondary). In Suffolk there are likely to be 10,000 pupils without a place (if no new building takes place).

[East of England: Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambs, Herts and Bedfordshire.]

John Norman