MORE than 500 children in Bradford could find themselves without a place at a secondary school within five years as a growing population piles on the pressure.

Projected figures from Bradford Council suggest there will be a shortfall of 504 places across the district for pupils starting in year seven in 2019.

The district's councillor in charge of education said the system was under pressure and he was lobbying the Government for more money.

But the Department for Education says it has already goven £69 million to spend on new places over four years.

Councillor Ralph Berry, the Council's portfolio holder for Children and Young People’s Services, said: "I am concerned about this.

"We have Forster Academy being built, and the Belle Vue proposals involve significant expansion there. We have to expand, but we are not being offered the money to build new schools.

"We want to get back to properly planning, borrowing money and building schools were they are needed."

He added that it was essential to create school places "where children can go to school near to where they live".

"The system is very tight," continued Cllr Berry. "We are under pressure. We are lobbying for additional resources."

The shortfall takes into account the 31 secondary schools that are spread across Bradford's three confederations of schools, as well as the under-construction Bradford Forster Academy.

The situation is worst in the Bradford Central which covers Beckfoot, Belle Vue Boys’, Belle Vue Girls’, Bradford Girls Grammar School, Carlton Bolling College, Dixons Allerton Academy, Feversham College, Hanson, Immanuel College, Laisterdyke Business and Enterprise, Oasis Academy Lister Park, One in A Million, St Bede’s and St Joseph’s Catholic, Samuel Lister Academy and Titus Salt schools.

There is forecast to be a shortfall of 367 year seven places by 2019 in Bradford Central - although the number is due to drop the following year to 277.

In Bradford South - Appleton Academy, Bradford Academy, Buttershaw Business & Enterprise, Dixons City Academy, Dixons Trinity Academy, Grange Technology College, Kings Science Academy, Queensbury, Thornton Grammar, Tong High and the future Bradford Forster Academy - there is forecast to be a shortfall of 68 by 2019/20.

In the Three Valleys area - Bingley Grammar, Ilkley Grammar, Oakbank, Parkside, The Holy Family, University Academy Keighley - there is estimated to be 69 too few year seven places in 2019/20.

On the possibility of having 504 too few places, Cllr Berry said: "That cannot be. We would have to make sure that does not happen.

"I want proper buildings and proper extensions.

"The Government, of whatever hue, is going to have to make proper provision to build proper buildings for Bradford children. My job is to make clear that case.

"We need to be able to expand the schools where we need them - not just thrown on to a piece of land."

A spokesman for the Council said: "We are continually planning ahead for school places, given that demand fluctuates over time.

"Following consultation and forward planning, we created a total of 5,720 new school places between 2009/10 and 2012/13. Several schools have welcomed additional pupils, in some cases thanks to building expansions that we planned in advance and delivered successfully.

"We are now on track for another 2,880 places to be created in the district between 2013/14 and 2015/16. We will continue to review increasing demand for places and work is under way to ensure we deliver school places in the areas with the greatest need."

A Department for Education spokesperson added: "As part of our plan for education we are making every effort to stop an unprecedented increase in pupil numbers affecting class sizes.

"We are giving Bradford Council £69m from 2011 to 2015 to spend on new places – compared to just £27m by the previous government over an equivalent period.

"In Bradford, an extra 5,894 school places were created between 2009/10 and 2012/13. In addition, we have opened seven free schools in the area – five of which provide secondary education. Once up and running, these schools will provide an additional 1,701 primary places and 3,214 secondary places."

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