School funding plea made by Bristol council leader

An appeal has been made to the education secretary for extra funding for primary schools in Bristol.

Bristol City Council leader Barbara Janke sent a letter to Michael Gove saying the authority needed to create 5,000 spaces over the next four years.

She said "achieving this objective would be challenging" and said extra funding was "pivotal".

The council said more temporary classrooms could be used to solve the problem in the coming years.

The Liberal Democrat-led council leader's letter went on to appeal for "direct discussions" with the Department for Education about the issue.

Earlier this year the council said schools in the north and east of the city were particularly hard-pressed.

The authority is also considering plans to reopen Fairfield Grammar School as a primary.

The city's current primary school age population is more than 28,000.