Search on for new school site

The city council says Pill Primary is almost full and the growing area will need an extra primary.

It has not promised to build a new school, but has instructed officers to scour Pill to see if there are any suitable sites.

Councillor Bob Poole, cabinet member for young people's services, said: "With all the housing development that is likely to go on in Pill, a new school is something we need to look at.

"If we do find a site the next step would be to get funding and resources. That will be the difficult part."

Pill Primary is one of very few primary schools in Newport where pupil numbers are not set for a significant fall in the next five years.

This week the council's cabinet announced that it wanted to close four schools in the Bettws and Malpas area because there were too many empty seats. The closures and proposed amalgamations could be in place by 2006.

But the council thinks that in Pill plans to regenerate the city and Docks Way will lead to more housing and more families in residence.

Mum Francesca Gibbons, of Alexandra Road, who has two boys at Pill Primary, said: "It would be good for parents to have a choice and it secures a better education for children. The extra room could mean class sizes are reduced.

"It would have to be built somewhere central and not on the outskirts as the roads are too busy.

"There are so many derelict buildings around, perhaps the council could knock some down."

Councillor Laura Buchanan-Smith, a governor of Pill Primary, welcomed the move, and said: "Pill Primary is a very popular school in an area that's being regenerated. But there're only so many classroom spaces left.

"I can't think of any suitable sites. The council should look at extending the current school."

Jill Richards, head teacher at Pill Primary, which has 466 on its roll and was built in 1988, said: "We're not completely full but numbers are at an optimum.

"I'd be very surprised if a new school was built. It's more likely this one will be extended."