According to public procurement specialists Scape Group’s latest School Places Challenge report, more than 2,000 new schools will need to be built within the next four years to accommodate the growing number of primary and secondary pupils in England.
The Scape report has showed that local authorities are expecting a further 729,000 pupils in education by 2020 – an increase of 8.6% in primary school pupils and 12% in secondary school pupils in England alone. To combat this rise, the equivalent of two new schools must be created every working day.
London, the South East and East of England are experiencing the highest levels of growth with more than 375,000 further primary and secondary pupils due to be added to the registers in the next four years.
Of the total 2,122 new schools required – the equivalent of 12,209 primary classrooms and 12,078 secondary classrooms – London requires 507 new schools. The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham will see the largest increase in the numbers of pupils, which will require a total of 28 new schools, followed by Lambeth, Newham and Greenwich, which need 21, 37 and 25 new schools built, respectively.
Away from London, Manchester will see numbers increase to nearly 19,000 extra primary and secondary pupils by 2020 – a 27% increase that will require the equivalent of 57 new schools.
Rapid growth in the cities of Bristol, Peterborough, Milton Keynes, Leicester and Nottingham will also mean that new schools will become highly sought after if the necessary amount is not be built in time.
Mark Robinson, Scape Group chief executive commented: “As the growth of the primary school population gathers pace, the pressure on school places will soon transfer to the secondary population, requiring a new wave of advanced school building.
“The government’s preference for free schools has created uncertainty for local authorities, who are tasked with planning and building new schools, but will not be responsible for running them. Proposals for new grammar schools has further muddied the waters.”
