School will start two months late for some children after a last-minute expansion was agreed to satisfy the ever-growing demand for places.

Last week, governors at Merton Abbey School in Colliers Wood agreed to provide an additional reception class – known as a bulge class – which will take an extra 30 children who will start the year in November.

Merton Council said it will provide the school with a new double classroom ready for its new pupils after it also agreed to provide another extra reception class from September 2012 and to permanently expand further in the long-term.

The council’s cabinet member for education, Councillor Peter Walker, had said last week that 17 children had still not been allocated a school place, but the new class at Merton Abbey School has now satisfied this demand.

Coun Walker said: “We believe in providing our young people with a quality education close to their home.

“These new facilities will also give our young people the opportunity to learn in a first-class learning environment.”

This latest expansion means eighteen schools in Merton have taken on an extra class over the past three years, which the council said will allow more children to walk to school.

Looking to the longer-term future of the school, the governing body has also agreed to work with Merton Council to assess the feasibility of permanent expansion, which would mean permanent new buildings for the school.

Also last week, Wimbledon Chase Primary School showed off its brand new £4.8m new building which was opened by top choreographer and former pupil, Akram Khan (pictured).

The school, in Merton Hall Road, will accommodate extra 210 pupils, bringing the total to 630 plus a nursery.

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