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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Primary school place demand set to rise | Primary school place demand set to rise |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| By Angela Harrison Education correspondent, BBC News | By Angela Harrison Education correspondent, BBC News |
| England's primary school population is set to rise by 18% in the next eight years, experts are predicting. | England's primary school population is set to rise by 18% in the next eight years, experts are predicting. |
| And by 2015, numbers are expected to grow by 8%, according to statistics from the Department for Education. | And by 2015, numbers are expected to grow by 8%, according to statistics from the Department for Education. |
| Secondary school numbers have been falling and will continue to do so until 2015, when the surge in primary pupils will start to feed through. | Secondary school numbers have been falling and will continue to do so until 2015, when the surge in primary pupils will start to feed through. |
| The government has pledged to spend more than £4bn in the next four years on creating new school places. | The government has pledged to spend more than £4bn in the next four years on creating new school places. |
| Other recent projections said 450,000 new primary places would be needed in England by 2015. | Other recent projections said 450,000 new primary places would be needed in England by 2015. |
| There are hot-spots of need around the country, with London under the most pressure. | There are hot-spots of need around the country, with London under the most pressure. |
| In London, by 2015, the primary age population is expected to be 18% higher than it was in 2010. | |
| But the growth is not only expected in the South East. In the North East and South West, primary numbers are expected to rise by 9% over the same time. | |
| England's birth rate has been rising since 2002 and is expected to continue to grow, the statisticians say. | England's birth rate has been rising since 2002 and is expected to continue to grow, the statisticians say. |
| The government says its policies of allowing good schools to expand and of creating new free schools should help. | |
| Schools Minister Lord Hill has accused Labour of ignoring warnings about population growth and future shortages when it was in power. | |
| "The last government knew there was an issue as early as 2004 but sadly did nothing," he said. | |
| "Unlike Labour we are taking the determined action needed to deal with this problem by spending more than £4 billion on extra primary places." | |
| Critics say the government's free school programme will not meet the need for places. |