A HEADTEACHER at a West Oxfordshire school growing in popularity is thrilled it can now expand to welcome more pupils.

Following a council decision, West Witney Primary School will be able to increase its admission from 45 to 60 pupils a year.

Nancy Darby, headteacher at the school, said she was excited about the expansion, which will also see the development of four new classrooms, with work due to begin in May.

Ms Darby said she was delighted to be able to offer more families a place in the school after seeing a boost in its popularity.

She added: “We’ve been oversubscribed for the past few years and more families are choosing us as their first choice.

“It’s ever so exciting for us, it really is. The school is so popular and people want to come here. We want to offer as many people who want a place in West Witney Primary School a place.

“It’s going to be really beneficial for the school.”

Last year the school could admit 45 new pupils but was listed as a family's first choice in 67 applications.

The expansion, which was fully supported by the school’s governing body, will help meet future demand for primary pupil places in the school’s catchment and surrounding area, as housing developments progress and increase the town's population.

It will also enable the school to separate its mixed-aged classes, which Ms Darby says will improve the school's teaching of the national curriculum.

She continued: "We'll be able to teach in single year groups which is better for the national curriculum and will make teaching more efficient."

Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for education Steve Harrod, who approved the application, said: “This is great news for West Witney Primary School and for the growing number of young families in the local area.

"The council always seeks to work with our existing schools where there is an option to expand and where this will help meet identified demand for local school places. I’m very pleased to be able to approve this project.”

The expansion is in addition to a planned new primary school on the housing development permitted in nearby north Curbridge.

In West Witney Primary Schools last Ofsted report, in 2015, it was rated 'good' across the board by inspectors.

Its teachers were praised for making lessons interesting and leadership was commended for ensuring the quality of teaching was continuously improving.