A proposed new secondary school could be expanded to take on an extra 400 primary school pupils.

If plans are approved, Alkerden school in Ebbsfleet will open in September 2021 catering for children aged two to 19.

More than 1,600 students would study at the site near Dartford, which would include a nursery, primary and secondary school.

Aletheia Anglican Academies Trust, which won a tender to open the new school from Kent County Council last year, launched plans to create the "all through" institution last week.

Stephen Carey, chief executive of the trust, revealed 1,200 pupils would be studying at the new secondary school and the expansion, if approved, would cater for an extra 446 students.

He said: " I can confirm that the secondary school will have a published admission number of 240 in each year group from Year 7 to 11 and a full sixth form provision when fully open."

Initial plans were in place to build two schools in Ebbsfleet Valley but "on-site" challenges affected the feasibility of building a separate primary school with issues surrounding additional access and catering services.

If the Trust's latest proposal is accepted, there will be 60 new places allocated for each year primary group, with an eventual total roll of 420 primary school pupils. In addition, the change would create 26 nursery school places.

In 2018, Kent County Council held a competition to identify a promoter to establish a school in Ebbsfleet Valley known as Alkerden.

A consultation into the Ebbsfleet proposal began last Wednesday (June 12) and will run until July 9.

Responses can be sent here or emailed to officeadmin@sgsce.co.uk.

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