£4.7 million to expand Ilkley secondary school

Forecasts show Ilkley Grammar School could have a shortfall of 118 places by 2020.

The proposed expansion would cost £4.7m and would allow the school to increase its intake of students from 261 to 300 a year.

Bradford Metropolitan District Council will decide on the plans next week.

The move would be part of the authority’s on-going work to ensure sufficient school places are available across the district for pupils of all ages.

The authority has already created an extra 8,500 primary school places since 2010 and is now focusing on secondary schools. The council’s member for education, Imran Khan, said: “An important part of this goal is ensuring that our schools are in a position to meet the demand for places in the areas that they serve.”