The 11 primary schools in Chorley and Leyland that are over capacity

Last month, the Post reported how a record rate of overcrowded schools is being driven by increased demand for secondary places, according to the Association of School and College Leaders.

Whilst we revealed that six secondary schools from in and around Preston were over capacity in 2020-21, we also looked at the same Department for Education data for primary schools in Chorley and Leyland.

Overall, 11 primary schools within the two towns were in excess of capacity, meaning 2345 pupils in Chorley and Leyland attended overcrowded primary schools last year.

Edwina Grant OBE, Executive Director of Education and Children’s Services at Lancashire County Council, said: "We do recognise that there are some schools that are oversubscribed at the current time in the Preston area and some other areas such as Chorley in the county .

"We work very closely with our schools and their governing bodies to ensure that each school is able to accommodate the appropriate number of children each year and follow our statutory responsibility in terms of school placements and access to schools.

"As districts such as Preston expand their housing stock we endeavour to work closely with district councils to ensure we are aligning our resources regarding the provision of school places.

"Our Schools Place Planning Strategy which was released in November last year is clear about the plans the authority has to ensure we place children in their school of choice as far as we are able and we will continue to work with our schools and district councils to achieve the best education we can."

See all the primary schools in Chorley and Leyland that were above full capacity, according to the most recent DfE figure, below: