Thirty new school places created for north Leeds

With the support of the head teacher, staff and governing body, Leeds City Council has secured an additional 30 reception class places for September 2016 at Talbot Primary School

The places are required in order to address a shortage of reception places, which came to the fore last year, following unprecedented movement into the area of families with children of primary school age.

The 30 new reception places agreed at Talbot Primary School will be a ‘bulge’ cohort for 2016 rather than a permanent expansion. This means that the school will admit 90 children in its reception class rather than the current 60, and these children will have a secure place at the school through to year six.

A range of building improvements will be provided which will benefit pupils for years to come as well as ensure that the additional class for next year are comfortably accommodated. The council’s school places planning team is working hard to identify solutions for longer term across the Roundhay area.

The additional places will be allocated in line with the published admissions policy for Leeds community and voluntary-controlled schools.

Councillor Lucinda Yeadon, executive member for children and families said:

“We are very grateful to all of the schools across the city, like Talbot, which have been open to negotiations around taking extra pupils in both the long and short term. It is very pleasing that the schools recognise that the learning community must work together to ensure that we have enough good quality school places for children in city, to help tackle the increasing demand for school places in our growing city and in particular in the north Leeds area.

“We are continuing to progress negotiations with other local schools and will continue our work to determine a longer term solution for the demand pressures in the area.”