PLANS to relocate a Worcester school have been rejected by city councillors.

Worcester City Council's Cabinet agreed the county council's planning application to move Christopher Whitehead High School from its current site in St John's be refused.

The decision is part of a consultation process carried out before the county council finally decides on the plans in September.

Councillors said it was wrong to take the school out of the heart of the community.

"To up sticks is totally wrong," said Councillor Stephen Inman, council leader. "Schools belong in the centre of things, not on the outskirts."

Councillor Francis Lankester, who is also a teacher, said the plans had some benefits.

"Which teacher wouldn't want to work in a new school?" he asked.

"But as a teacher, I can't see any educational advantage of moving the only high school on the west side to the periphery.

"The county could have been getting on with providing a plan for Christopher Whitehead and not leaving everybody wondering what's going on in the future. Uncertainty is always a bad thing for a school."

The cabinet heard the planning department had received only sketchy plans of the new school, which could be built at Earl's Court Farm, near Rushwick.

"We don't even have a description of how high it's going to be," said principal planning officer, Peter Yates.

He said Tesco, which would fund the new school, had recently submitted revised plans for a supermarket in St John's.

"That site is a valuable piece of land," said Coun Martin Clarke.

"Tesco isn't doing it out of the kindness of its heart. It wants to get its hands on that valuable land."

The Cabinet agreed to endorse the views of the planning committee that the county council be advised the application should be refused.