A WYCHBOLD school says it needs to expand to meet a rising demand for pupil places caused by new housing in the area.

Wychbold First School, in School Road, has seen a spike in its pupil numbers over the past year, with 59 on its roll in October 2014 compared to 84 in December 2015.

To cope with the increase in pupil numbers and to prevent it from having to turn away prospective students, the school has proposed to widen its annual intake from 20 students a year to 30.

It is currently consulting with the community to gauge support for the scheme, which if given the go-ahead could also see a brand new classroom built at the Worcestershire County Council-run school.

Rachel Hughes, headteacher at Wychbold First School, said: "I think I have got lots of parents out there who are really concerned at the moment.

"Increasing from 20 to 30 would really support our local community who are already concerned that they might not be able to use their local school.

"The village is expanding. Over the course of the last 18 months we have had new housing built in the Wychavon village which has increased the number of families who would like to place their children at Wychbold First School.

"Now the County Council are working in partnership with the governing body to consult with our local community and other stake holders to decide if increasing our pupil admission number to 30 from September 2017 would be supported."

At a recent meeting of representatives from the County Admissions Department, governors and Mrs Hughes, it was predicted the pupil numbers could fluctuate between 29 and 34 new children a year over the next five years.

In a letter home to parents Mrs Hughes described this as a "significant increase" which under current circumstances would mean "many would not get a place" at the school.

She was quick to confirm, however, that so far no prospective students had been turned away.

If the County Council's Cabinet approves the proposed expansion at its February meeting next year, the school could begin taking in 30 pupils a year as soon as September 2016.

However this would be the school's final expansion, with a maximum number of 150 pupils, plus nursery children.

Should the plan get the go-ahead, every class would be made up of children in the same year, while under current arrangement years three and four classes are mixed.

Mrs Hughes, who has been headteacher for eight years, added: "We are really pleased. Our main drive is always to give the children in our local community, and outside of our local community, an excellent education. This will afford us the opportunity to expand that to every new family that comes to Wychbold."

To submit your views on the proposal visit wychboldschool.co.uk or fill in a paper version, available from the school's office.

Responses to the consultation must be submitted by 12pm on Friday, December 11.

Once consultation forms have been collected the school's governors will decide whether they will submit a formal proposal to the County Council requesting its support.