SHOCK claims are being made that Worcestershire needs to build around 17 new schools by 2020 to cope with "unprecedented pressure" for places.

Experts say a boom in birth rates will leave the county barely able to cope by 2020 unless the equivalent of 202 new classrooms are created.

Worcestershire County Council has responded to the figures by insisting it only forecasts three years ahead, and by then it predicts a more modest four per cent rise in secondary school places.

The warning has come from Scape Group, an environmental body owned by the public sector which has used Department for Education statistics.

It says secondary school pupils will increase 12 per cent by 2020 across Britain, while in primaries it will rise 8.6 per cent, totalling an extra 729,000 pupils nationwide.

The group says Worcestershire will see demand heighten due to extra house building, with the equivalent of 202 new classrooms needed for more than extra 5,000 pupils in total.

Mark Robinson, from the Scape Group, said: "The country will soon start to feel the full weight of the impending boom in pupil numbers, and we're already seeing unprecedented pressure on school places.

"A radical new wave of school-building must be a top priority for government."

Bosses at County Hall say its in-house forecasts do not highlight the same levels of demand, which relies on census stats and future housing.

A spokesman said: "We produce annual forecasts based on the census to identify future pressures and add housing trajectories to identify additional pupils.

"These figures are checked against actual numbers entering schools at the various age ranges to ensure accuracy.

"This allows us to identify pressure points in an area and work with schools to mitigate these impacts.

"Our countywide forecast shows primary intake at reception will in fact decline due to demographic growth by around 5.8 per cent and secondary numbers are forecast to rise by four per cent.

"We will also have increased numbers as a result of new housing developments."

The council says the figures are subject to revisions, and that an update is due in the spring after the publication of this year's census.

Earlier this year we revealed how a 'bulge class' of 30 pupils was created at Northwick Manor Primary School in Worcester to cope with an unprecedented surge in demand from nearby families.

At the time the council said they hoped the event was a "one-off".