HEADTEACHERS of overflowing Bromsgrove schools have warned that by 2002 pupils may have to travel outside the district for their education, unless there is investment in new buildings.

Millions of pounds will be needed for classrooms, dining halls, toilets and specialist teaching facilities before town schools can accommodate the rising numbers of youngsters from new developments, they said.

Temporary classrooms have already been put in place at the town's two high schools, as well as at Parkside Middle School, in Stourbridge Road.

At Aston Fields Middle School, in Drummond Road, temporary classrooms are only now being replaced, four years later, with a new £1m building, due to be completed this summer.

Schools may also be hit by cash flow problems because most of the funding for increased pupil numbers will not come through until April 2002.

Parkside Middle School headteacher John Graham said: "There isn't a single place left for a year seven pupil in Bromsgrove.

"If someone moved here next term, they might have to bus them to Redditch."

North Bromsgrove High School headteacher Kevin Peck said students would continue to receive a high standard of education, but he feared they may be forced to turn pupils away in future years.

He said: "If we have another 300 pupils in 2002 - which is very likely - then I just don't know where we are going to put them."

Plans need to be made well in advance to cope with current numbers and new developments, South Bromsgrove High School headteacher Phil McTague said.

Head of education policy at Worcestershire County Council Colin Weeden promised parents that all Bromsgrove pupils will continue to be taught in the town's schools.

They will consider all options for a "substantial" investment in new school buildings, including the controversial Private Finance Initiative (PFI), he said.

He said: "Bromsgrove is our priority area for capital investment for education."