TWO secondary schools in Kingswinford and Wordsley are to be expanded to cope with demand.

Plans to create an extra 300 places for pupils at both The Wordsley School and Crestwood School in Kingswinford will be on the agenda at Dudley Council's next cabinet meeting on Thursday June 27.

Council bosses say consultations have been carried out with residents living near the schools and plans are now moving forwards with a bid for planning permission and designs being drawn up for the expansions which aim to meet projected growth rates in the areas around the schools by 2020.

Councillor Ruth Buttery, Dudley's cabinet member for children and young people, said: "It is really important that we provide access to quality education to all our children and young people, wherever they live in the borough.

"By working closely with our planning team and academies we can accurately predict when and where provision is needed and put measures in place accordingly.

"That could be reducing numbers where there’s no longer a need or - as in this case - increasing places where there is demand, either on a temporary basis or investing for long term growth.

"We will continue to closely monitor numbers for both primary and secondary school places and processes are in place to recommend investment to address any projected growth."

The plans will also see temporary mobile classrooms used at Crestwood from September to meet demand while building works are ongoing.