Cash awarded for school places in Bristol and South Gloucestershire

More than 4,300 school places are to be created in Bristol and South Gloucestershire.

The funding has come from the government's Targeted Basic Need programme, which provides new school places in locations that need them.

South Gloucestershire Council has been given cash for new academies at existing secondary schools in Bradley Stoke and Kingswood.

Mangotsfield primary and Beacon Rise primary in Kingswood will be expanded.

This will create 1,050 new places in South Gloucestershire, while nine schools in Bristol have received funding for 3,270 places.

South Gloucestershire Council's Conservative leader John Calway said: "It's excellent news that all four of the bids that the council submitted have been approved by the Department for Education.

"We are determined to ensure that South Gloucestershire parents have access to high quality and local school places for their children."

Stephen Williams, Liberal Democrat MP for Bristol West, said: "I am delighted that Bristol has been given this extra support, which will ease the pressure on school places and will allow more children in my constituency to attend good schools."

In recent years some parents have said their children were not able to attend their preferred school because of high demand for places.