These Luton schools are 'overcrowded' according to latest government figures

Luton has five full or overcrowded primary and secondary schools, new figures show.

Department for Education figures show five schools were at or over capacity in Luton in the 2021-22 academic year.

Of them, three were primary schools and two were secondary schools.

A school is at or in excess of capacity when the number of pupils enrolled is greater than or equal to its number of places.

Across England, 17% of primary schools were full or over capacity while 23% of secondary schools, including sixth forms, were at or above capacity last year.

The Department for Education said most state schools that exceeded their capacity were over by fewer than 10 pupils. About 7% of schools exceeded their capacity by 10 or more students.

Jon Andrews, Education Policy Institute head of analysis, said the proportion of schools operating at over capacity is likely to fall in the coming years.

"Pupil numbers are already declining in primary, and will soon peak in secondary and special schools. The Department for Education estimate that the total pupil population will fall by over 900,000 between 2022 and 2032," Mr Andrews added.

He warned the result of schools operating close to or over capacity is additional demands on teaching staff and pupils being left without their preferred choice of school.

The figures show the most crowded primary school in Luton last year was Tennyson Road primary school. The school had 688 students on roll, 58 more than it has places.

The most crowded secondary school in the area was Cardinal Newman Catholic School which had 1,705 pupils and 1,650 places last year.

Hillborough Infant and Nursery and Leagrave Primary School were both full with 270 and 420 pupils respectively. Icknield High School had three extra pupils over its number of places, with 1453 children.

Geoff Barton, Association of School and College Leaders general secretary, said arrangements are in place to accommodate pupils where a school is over-subscribed.

Mr Barton added: "The bigger issue is that this situation is often driven by Ofsted judgements rather than a shortage of school places in the system as a whole because many parents apply for schools with ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ ratings."

A Department for Education spokesperson said it has created almost 1.2 million school places since 2010.

They said: “The vast majority of schools listed as overcapacity are either at or just over recorded capacity, and we work closely with local authorities to make sure they offer a school place to every child in country.”