Parents and teachers will discover this week if their calls for a new village school have been answered.

Cullingworth Primary School has asked Bradford Council to develop a new school campus rather than redeveloping the current School Street site.

A council steering group will meet today to discuss what avenue to pursue. The council has already submitted plans to construct an extension which would abut the existing Victorian school.

If the steering group decides to redevelop the current site, construction work by Bovis Lend Lease will begin as soon as term has finished.

Parents, teachers and governors believe that developing the current site would disturb pupils' study and would make the school cramped.

They would prefer to see a new campus built on the council's former allotment site in the village.

Concerned villagers argue this would be as cost effective, if not more so, than building an extension and refurbishing the old Victorian building.

Head teacher Chris Irelan-Bunting said: "There are a lot of genuine physical difficulties with doing what the council wants.

"The new school extension would work, the problem is it would become a building site with children right next to it, which would not be good at all.

"We are very pleased with the efforts parents, governors and staff have put in to highlight the very special need for a new school and the problems we currently face.

"Their hard work has ensured that our concerns have been taken on board very seriously by Bradford Council."

Cullingworth Parish Council has also backed up calls for a new school building in the village.

At this month's meeting Councillor Bryan Hobson said: "While we've no specific objections to the plans for the redevelopment of the school, we would suggest that serious consideration is given to an alternative site and a new school."

Councillors added that building a new school would have the added bonus of minimising disruption to the children's education.