Schools in Kent took in an extra 2,000 children in just five months last year due to migration from abroad and pressure for places from other parts of the south east.

Figures from education chiefs show that between January and May 2015, schools had to find space for an additional 2,026 children.

Of those, about one in ten were migrants from abroad whose first language was not English.

But KCC says there is a mixed picture about the impact of migrants - with some areas under greater pressure than others.

Separate figures show an estimated 3,900 additional children joined county schools in 2013-14, again through external and internal migration.

Of these, a third - 1,300 - were estimated to have come from other countries, notably new countries in the EU.

Of the 2,026 pupils who needed school places in the first five months of 2015, Thanet saw the largest number - 243. Of these 50 did not have English as their first language.

Dartford saw the second highest number (201) - of which 30 did not speak English.

Tunbridge Wells saw the fewest, with just 100 additional children, of which 15 did not speak English

According to KCC, since 2012, there has been a 49% increase since 2012 in children from accession states, such as Bulgaria, Romania, Estonia and Hungary, not having English as their first language - accounting for 2.1% of the school population.

KCC's own long-term plans to ensure there are enough places has cited migration - both from abroad and other areas of the south east - as a challenge in nine out of 12 districts.

There have been concerns that schools sometimes lack the support they need to deal with migrant children from abroad.

Cllr Martin Vye, KCC Liberal Democrat spokesman who asked for the data, said it believed what he described as the hysteria around the impact of migration: “If you look at children from EU Accession states, I do not think there’s any cause to panic although some individual schools may be under pressure.

"Across the county, it represents about 2% of the whole school population.”

Cllr Lee Burgess, Ukip opposition education spokesman at KCC, said: “It comes as no surprise that Kent has had an increase in children from out of county and out of country.

"The county of Kent is a victim of its own success and geography, as the home county that links the powerhouse of London and continent.”

Cllr Roger Gough, cabinet member for education, said Kent was experienced in dealing with the challenge of migration.

“We have been working with this issue for a long time. Migration from other areas of the UK is part of the problem as is migration from outside the UK.

"Are we on top of it? At present, we certainly are. There are always pressures which are difficult to predict" - Cllr Roger Gough

"There can be significant variations between areas but in terms of school expansions, we have been spending quite a lot on expanding schools and new schools.

"Are we on top of it? At present, we certainly are. There are always pressures which are difficult to predict.”

He added: “What is new is that the pressure is not easing up as we are starting to see the primary school issue [growth in numbers] moving into secondary school. If we look ahead, there are quite a few challenges in the longer term.”

On the ability of schools to cope with children whose first language was not English, he said: “On the whole, schools have responded to it well.”

Sir Michael Wilshaw, the head of Ofsted, warned in 2014 that the government needed to provide more money for schools dealing with unexpected influxes.