IT’S not a new revelation that our population is growing. And babies being born now will obviously need schools to go to in years to come.

Oxfordshire isn’t alone in being squeezed for school places but up until now the county council has focused its efforts on expanding primary schools.

Surely it should have been obvious to the authorities that the demand for places would then filter through to secondary schools.

Now in a report pupil numbers are expected to reach more than 40,000 by 2018/19.

But still the council still does not believe there is a need to build another secondary school in the city.

Instead it expects existing secondaries to increase their intakes.

As we know a lot of our schools are already full and if they are going to be forced to take in extra students they may not be able to cope.

Every parent wants the best education for their children but if the teachers are being spread more thinly with more pupils they not be getting the best possible.

While four years may seem a long way off to some but when planning applications for classroom expansions can take months, even years, it is no time at all.

The council needs to act right now to help safeguard the future of our schools.