Figures reveal Barnet has more pupils than places

Nearly half of Barnet’s schools have more pupils than places according to figures released last week.

A quarter of the borough’s primary schools and a fifth of its secondaries are over-full, the Labour Party revealed this week using the Freedom of Information Act.

In contrast, none of Camden’s primary or secondary schools are over-capacity, according to the data from local education authorities.

It is estimated an extra 334 primary school places and an additional 567 secondary places will need to be created in Barnet by September 2019 to cope with a rising population.

Andrew Dismore, Labour London Assembly member for Barnet and Camden, said the figures were “deeply worrying”.

He added: “The situation in Barnet is only going to get worse. Conservative Barnet Council and the Conservative government have been very short-sighted in failing to anticipate the growth in demand for school places.”

A spokeswoman for Barnet Council said the figures were “misleading”. She added that some of Barnet’s primary schools are over-capacity for several reasons, including a number of successful appeals against school allocations.