A WORCESTER school is set for an expansion after plans to build eight new classrooms received the green light.

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School on Chedworth Drive, Warndon, is expecting to double its intake of pupils over the next six years.

The number of youngsters the school will take in each year is likely to increase from 30 to 60, with pupil numbers reaching a maximum of 420 by 2019.

To cope with the demand, Worcestershire County Council applied for permission to build the new classrooms, which have been approved by the authority’s planning and regulatory committee.

“This development is needed to accommodate the anticipated increase in pupil numbers at the school over the coming years,” said Councillor Rob Adams, the committee chairman.

“During a recent site visit it was apparent the school is very much part of the community and these proposals will bring many benefits.”

The committee heard that a travel plan promoting the use of sustainable forms of travel is planned to address traffic congestion in the area.

The new classroom block, which will be part single-storey and part two-storey, will face the school’s playing fields, library, staff area and toilets.

Outdoor learning areas are now being planned, along with five new car parking spaces.

The school isn’t the first in Warndon facing a rise in pupil numbers.

Warndon Primary School, which opens as an academy this week, will go from having two classes for each year group to three in the next couple of years.

To cope with this, Worcestershire County Council has applied for an extension to build three new classrooms.

The authority says the move, the last of a three-stage plan, is the result of a cabinet decision to increase the size of the school “due to the rising pupil numbers in the area”.

County pupil numbers stood at 7,390 in October 2012 and are expected to hit 7,880 by October 2016.