A WIRRAL school that wants to expand its size by an entire form has led to fears over traffic, educational standards and pupil numbers elsewhere.

The move would mean Townfield Primary School in Oxton having three forms per year group as opposed to the current two, meaning an expected increase in capacity of around 275 pupils.

But the move has had a mixed response from parents, local councillors, other schools and the community, with whom it held a month-long consultation that started in May.

In that consultation, there were many voices of support, but also concerns over traffic, parking, the impact on local schools and residents, and the effect on the standards and ethos of the school.

The move would be subject to a planning application, which is yet to be submitted.

Councillor Allan Brame, who represents the Oxton ward, said: “While it is good to see that a local school is so popular, there have to be serious concerns about adding to the chaotic parking at the beginning and end of the school day.”

The Liberal Democrat councillor added: “The headteacher, Doug Stitcher, has been very co-operative in trying to address the concerns of local residents, but 50% extra pupils is inevitably going to mean 50% extra traffic.

“Inconsiderate parking in roads all round the school is already an absolute nightmare for local residents.”

According to the report of the consultation published by the school earlier this month, 17 written responses from parents were against the changes, while 15 were in favour, with five being rated as “neutral” by the school.

In a social media poll carried out by the Townfield Lane school, 160 said they were in favour, with 147 against the move.

It said parents were most concerned about the impact on the educational standards of the school, residents and councillors were most concerned about parking issues, and head teachers were worried about the impact on pupil numbers.

Addressing those concerns, the school’s response in the consultation said it was “deeply empathetic” to concerns about traffic, and a detailed “traffic plan” will be drawn up.

It also said the “slight decrease” in pupil numbers at other schools “would not be enough to significantly negatively impact them”, and that academic standards would be “rigorously monitored” to ensure high standards are maintained.

A spokesman from Townfield Primary School added: “The proposed expansion of the school is just that at present, and there remains much work to be done before any changes come into effect.

"A key element of this will be a planning application which will include a detailed highways and traffic analysis which will carefully examine all evidence.”

He said the school was “working hard” to engage with the local community, and said meetings with residents were being planned to ensure all views and opinions are heard.

He added: “If planning is successful the enlarged school intake will be done in a phased manner over a seven-year period. As well as the gradual increase many of the new children will come from existing families which will result in a less than 50% increase in traffic.”

According to Ofsted, the school, which became an academy back in 2014, currently has 552 pupils on roll.

Responding to concerns about congestion, a spokesman for Wirral Council said: “Parking is an issue around many schools in the borough and we continue to work with them on ways to improve this, including encouraging more parents to walk their children to school where possible.

“A local safety scheme primarily aimed at vehicles was also put in place a number of years ago in the area around Townfield Primary School and records indicate this has seen significant improvements in road safety in recent years.”