A £1.6 million bid to bring down infant class sizes was due to be given the go-ahead by York councillors tonight.

The council has put together a plan as part of the Government's pledge to reduce class sizes to below 30 by the year 2001.

At the moment there are 5,065 pupils in the City of York area. Of that number, 450 children - or nine per cent - are in classes with more than 30 pupils.

This percentage was brought down from 23 per cent last year after the council won £250,000 to fund the posts of ten new teachers from September this year.

Now the council is set to bid for £1.2m for the period 1999 to 2002 to fund more new teachers, and another £400,000 to fund new classrooms at four schools.

Permanent extra classrooms have been proposed at Rawcliffe Infant School, Dunnington CE Primary School and Wheldrake CE Primary School because of the effects of new housing developments in the area.

It is also proposed to build a new temporary classroom at English Martyr's RC Primary.

The plans also include changing the "standard number" of admissions at some of the schools in the area to take account of fluctuating demand for places.

The schools which could see new teachers under the plan include Burdyke Infant School, Haxby Road Primary, Hob Moor Infant, Lakeside Primary, Lord Deramore's Primary, Oaken Grove Primary, Our Lady's RC Primary, Park Grove Primary, Poppleton Road Primary, St Paul's CE Primary, Westfield Infant School, Wigginton Primary, Woodthorpe Primary, Bishopthorpe Infant, Copmanthorpe Infant, Dunnington CE Primary, Elvington CE Primary, Skelton Primary, St Mary's CE Primary, Stockton-on-the-Forest Primary and Wheldrake CE Primary.

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