PRIMARY schools in the town are set to be expanded to cope with the predicted influx of new pupils, The Star can reveal today.

Ipswich is one of a few places in the country which has been identified as being at high risk of not having enough primary school spots in 2014/15 for the numbers of children, according to a report by the National Audit Office.

However Suffolk County Council is confident enough places will be available and has contingency plans in place, including the expansion of four schools in the town.

A spokesman for Suffolk County Council said: “We can assure parents in Ipswich that we have enough school places for their children.

“We monitor population forecasts very closely and have contingency plans in place to cope with increased demand. This includes expanding four primary schools in the town, temporary arrangements which we are seeking to make permanent and agreements with other schools to provide extra places, pending further consultations.

“Whilst demand across the town varies, we’re confident that enough places will be available.”

It is expected that the decision to expand the four schools – Hillside Primary, St Margaret’s C of E, Cliff Lane Primary and Rushmere Hall Primary – will be taken in July, and if approved, work will begin later this year.

Neil Challis, headteacher of Rushmere Hall Primary, explained that some building work has already started to cater for extra pupils.

“We are taking in 30 extra pupils each year for five years, along with additional teachers. For every new group coming through, we have to provide enough teachers for them,” he said.

David Ellesmere, Ipswich Borough Council leader, said: “This is a recognised demographic issue. Birth rates tend to go in waves. We are seeing there is this bulge in children coming through the system at the moment.

“One of the ways we can help is as a planning authority. The plans we have for the north of Ipswich [the northern fringe development] includes new schools. Also when there are any new houses being built in significant numbers, there is a planning agreement that the developer must make a contribution to the county council to go towards new schools.”

The NAO report stated that in total, 256,000 new school places are needed across the country by 2014-15 – 240,000 in primary schools.

Graham White, secretary of the Suffolk National Union of Teachers, added: “My concern is that there will be enough teachers, teaching assistants and resources for those particular schools to meet the needs of each and every pupil.”

The county council spokesman said the school gets funding per pupil to cover the cost of additional resources.