AN OTLEY school has begun a consultation on proposals to permanently increase its annual intake of new students.

Prince Henry's Grammar School is seeking to introduce a change that would take effect in September, 2020 and see the number of Year 7 places available rise from 255 to 285.

The school says the move is necessary because it is 'heavily, and increasingly, oversubscribed' for places.

In a letter to parents outlining the proposals, Headteacher Janet Sheriff said they were dependent upon the school securing funding to add new classrooms.

She said: "The increased oversubscription has meant that a significant number of students from Prince Henry’s traditional core of feeder primary schools within the Otley, Pool and Bramhope Family of Schools did not secure places in the September, 2018 allocation.

"This led to a period of extreme anxiety and uncertainty for Year 6 pupils and parents. Therefore, in agreement with Leeds City Council, Prince Henry’s agreed, as a one-off amendment to the PAN (Published Admission Number) to admit an additional form of entry for 2018/2019 only.

"However, it is impossible to replicate this temporary increase in the admission limit due to limited capacity at the school. Site expansion works and a permanent increase to the PAN would allow the school to respond to this increased demand for places.

"The Trustees at Prince Henry’s have already submitted a bid to the Department for Education’s Condition Improvement Fund to secure funding to create six additional classrooms, additional social and dining space and other improvements to support the flow of students around the building.

"One of the requirements for the success of this bid is that there is a permanent increase to the PAN."

The consultation will run until midnight on Tuesday, March 12. Comments can be e-mailed to consultation@princehenrys.co.uk . There will also be a public drop-in session at the school from 4.30pm to 7pm on Thursday, March 7.

A full report on the outcome will be published on the Prince Henry’s website by the end of April.