One of Gravesham’s largest primary schools could increase pupil numbers from as early as September if expansion plans are given the go-ahead.

Governors at St John’s Catholic Primary School and education chiefs at Kent County Council are in favour of adding 30 more school places per year over the next seven years, and have just completed a four-week consultation period with parents, carers and staff.

The school, an academy currently rated as good by Ofsted, would see total pupil numbers rise by 210 by the start of the 2022/23 academic year.

At present, there are 630 children from Reception to Year Six occupying the building in Rochester Road, which is well above the national average of approximately 260.

The popular and successful school also received a staggering 284 applications for 90 available places for the start of the 2015/16 academic year.

The admissions expansion programme would start with the number of Reception pupils increasing from 90 to 120 in September. By 2022, the school would have four classes in each year, taking the total roll to 840.

The proposal has come from KCC and Southwark Diocese and is in response to the immediate need for more places in the borough due to a population increase, as well as a continuing heavy demand in future years from housing developments such as those in the Thames Gateway.

A letter from head teacher Jonathan Shields and vice chairman of governors Gerard Keenan sent to interested parties at the start of the consultation detailed how the expansion would take shape.

It stated all building works would be scheduled to keep disruption to an “absolute” minimum, the design team would focus on providing sufficient playground space and that a traffic and parking assessment would be undertaken as part of the planning process.

In a newsletter on the school’s website Mr Shields commented that he “hates” seeing local siblings being turned down for a school place but, speaking to the Messenger, he described the plans as being in their infancy.

“More places need to be created for all the homes being built, but we also have to consider issues like the road,” he said.

Concerns about traffic and parking problems along Rochester Road, which also serves neighbouring St John’s Catholic Comprehensive School and Gravesend Grammar School, have been raised over the years.

Mr Shields himself spoke out about the “nightmare” road when a young boy was knocked down in 2013.

Similar worries have been expressed on the Messenger’s Facebook page. Suzanne Holdren suggested a drop-off point for those travelling to school by car, while Leanne Mills, a parent of children at the school, said the increased intake “would without question create extra traffic on an already dangerously busy road”.

A formal decision on whether to continue with the expansion plan is expected to be made by the school governors later this month.

If favoured, the school will submit a bid to the Education Funding Agency and notify KCC to proceed with building plans, which would be subject to separate planning requirements and include further public consultation.

When choosing schools for possible expansion, KCC takes into account the school’s quality of education as judged by Ofsted and its popularity with parents.

It also appraises suitability of existing buildings, the size of a site and its ability to expand, and road access to the site, including transport and safety issues.

KCC’s five-year education commissioning plan estimates that the number of primary age pupils in the county is expected to rise from 111,193 in 2012/13 to 121,278 in 2017/18.
In drawing up the document, major growth areas such as the Thames Gateway were taken into account.

By September next year, the total number of permanent additional places created in Kent primary schools since 2010 is expected to be 10,461, with 710 in Gravesham and 1,380 in Dartford.

Cllr Roger Gough, KCC’s cabinet member for education and health reform, said: “There remain a number of challenges for the future: the school age population continues to grow, requiring additional school places to be created, in the right places; access to sufficient capital funds for school building continues to be limited and uncertain; and there is increasing local concern about building development, particularly in established urban areas.”