Parents fighting for more grammar school places in Sevenoaks may be about to claim victory.

According to the Mail on Sunday, ministers are about to say yes to a satellite branch of the Weald of Kent grammar school which is based in Tonbridge and only caters for girls.

The newspaper says government lawyers have dropped their opposition to expansion.

At the moment it is illegal to open a new selective school but the law allows existing schools to grow.

The government had previously rejected the scheme as the places would be for boys and girls making it difficult to argue the satellite would really be part of the same school.

They also sought assurances staff would move between the two sites.

Speaking this morning KCC Cabinet Member for Education Roger Gough said: "We have seen a number of national media comments over the month. Some are positive, some negative and we are not rushing to conclusions.

"However, KCC and I have always been of the view that Weald of Kent's application is an extremely strong one.

"We wish to see as much grammar provision in Sevenoaks as possible, both for girls and boys. If Weald's application is successful it is a step in the right direction."

"We need additional provision in west Kent, especially in Sevenoaks where people send their children so far. A lot of the girls at this school will come from the town.

Invicta Grammar School, in Huntsman Lane, Maidstone, also submitted an application to expand in 2013 which was rejected.

Mr Gough said there are no plans for the school to pursue this bid.

The paper quotes a senior education source as saying: "We were determined to make sure the new grammar was legally watertight.

"The last thing we wanted was for our opponents to accuse us of rushing into an ideologically-motivated decision."