Primary given green light to take more pupils after appeal

A SCHOOL in Caversham has been given the green light to increase its pupil numbers after winning an appeal.

The Heights Primary School has been granted permission from Reading Borough Council to increase the number of pupils in its year group.

The school will now take
60 children across two classes, up from 50. This will take the number of pupils at the school from 350 to 420.

The borough council, the education authority, initially rejected the school’s first application, sent in July 2023.

Councillors rejected the application in December 2024, arguing that it would negatively impact other schools in the area and that projections showed there was likely to be a surplus of primary spaces over the following five years.

Last month, the Bellevue Place Education Trust, which has run the school since December 2023, appealed against the decision.

After a visit to the school, the Planning Inspectorate agreed the appeal should be granted saying admitting more pupils would not conflict with any planning policy.

The school was opened with two reception classes in September 2014 to meet the shortage of primary school places in the Caversham Heights area of Reading. It moved to its current building during the summer of 2021. While the building was built to accommodate 60 pupils per year group, the description of the development limited the school to 50 children per year group.

Headteacher Hayley Harrison said: “I am delighted that our excellent provision will be able to be accessed by more children.

“The Planning Inspectorate visited us and recognised that increasing our provision of
10 children per year group would greatly benefit our local families and give them the choice of education they have the right to.

“We are committed to work with local residents to minimise any potential consequences they feel this increase may cause.”

A spokesman for Reading Borough Council said it was “disappointed” with the decision.

He said: “North Reading parents and children benefit from a range of high-quality schools and the council wants all north Reading schools to have the opportunity to thrive.

“With declining pupil numbers and an already high number of spare school places in our primary schools, local schools face an increasing challenge to balance their budgets.”

He added that the council “remains concerned” with the impact the expansion might have on the “sustainability and financial viability of other schools”.