A major revamp of class sizes in North Yorkshire - to bring them to below 30 pupils - could cost £1.5 million.

The money would be needed to pay for more teachers and extra classrooms and some refurbishment, a North Yorkshire County Council report has revealed.

Parents in the county are being urged to respond to a major consultation exercise on infant class sizes.

The county council's education authority is currently preparing a detailed infant class size plan which must be submitted to the Government by October 16.

It will contain proposals to reorganise classes to contain fewer than 30 pupils by September 2001. Some schools will need extra classrooms and some will need more staff.

All schools and each library in the country has been sent a copy of the draft proposals.

There are 313 primary schools in the county. Of those, 152 classes at 84 schools had class sizes greater than 30 pupils, according to last January figures.

County head of policy and development, Bernadette Jones, said that equated to 25 per cent of five, six and seven-year-olds being in classes bigger than 30.

"Current estimates show that North Yorkshire would need about £1.5 million spending on extra teachers and about 30 extra classrooms, including some refurbishment and remodelling,'' she said.

"We are working to a very tight timescale to complete our proposals and any views which schools and parents would like to send us would be gratefully received.''

She added it was good news that the Government wanted to reduce class sizes but it was a challenge to achieve the goal by 2001.

Parents and schools wishing to respond should write to the local education authority at County Hall, Northallerton, DL7 8AE.

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