PLANS to expand Birkenhead Sixth Form College due to an 'increase in demand' for places has been revealed.

Named as the 2018 UK Sixth Form College of the Year at the TES awards, Birkenhead Sixth Form College say that over the last two years they have had to 'turn away' students after reaching limits of physical capacity.

The college is now hoping to receive a cash boost from Government to fund a new block of nine classrooms - the new building will lift the college's admissions cap so that more students can study there.

Principal Mike Kilbride, said: “We had to turn away a large number of students this year and this does not sit easily with our strong commitment to social mobility.

"We believe all young people can achieve, no matter what their starting points, and we are proud to be an OFSTED outstanding rated college with A Level outcomes placing us at the top of the Wirral performance tables.

"Giving young people the skills they need to succeed in the future workplace is a huge challenge for our region and we are very well positioned to rise to this challenge.

"Our applications this year are already up significantly on last year and in alignment with our values, we want to give the opportunity of a specialist sixth form education to as many of these young people as possible.”

The college is now inviting parents and residents to a public meeting on Friday, November 23 at 4pm to hear more about the plans.

For more information about the public meeting visit www.bsfc.ac.uk/consultation