PLANS for a new primary school have been published as Bicester is expecting an influx of up to 1,200 pupils.

The rapid growth of housing in the town has left forecasters predicting the need for hundreds of extra school spaces by 2024.

As a result, Oxfordshire County Council has drawn up plans for the latest primary school at self-build housing site Graven Hill.

The new school would be built among the 1,900 homes expected to go up on the former Ministry of Defence site.

In their plans, the county's education team wrote: "[The council] has identified the need to establish a new primary school in Bicester to open in September 2020."

Plans say the new school would primarily serve the Graven Hill development but could also widen its catchment area to meet growing need.

Overall, Bicester is expected to have an extra 12,000 homes in 20 to 25 years.

The plan goes on: "There is sufficient primary school capacity in the town for families moving in to Bicester before 2020, as a result of the previous school capacity expansion."

It continues: "The unique nature of the Graven Hill development increases the uncertainty about the precise scale and timing of the population growth which will result.

"The school will initially be constructed as a two-form entry primary school, providing capacity for 420 primary places – reception to Year 6 – and 90 nursery places."

Families are invited to have their say on plans in a consultation being run by the county council up to July 24.

The authority is looking for suggestions on characteristics of the school including any specialism it should have, any gaps in Bicester's schooling that could be addressed, whether the local community be able to use the facilities and what locals would like the school to offer the community out-of-hours, if anything.

Graven Hill's primary school will be run as an academy and the county council will look to appoint a controlling academy trust by May next year.

The school will sit within the proposed village centre, alongside various other community facilities including a small supermarket, shops, a village green, pub community centre and possibly a doctors and gym.

It is set to be designed and built by Graven Hill Village Development Company – owned by Cherwell District Council.

Building started on the sites homes in summer 2016 and the first families are moving in now. Homes will continue to be built on the site over the next 10 years – mostly self-build homes built by families and housing developers having bought individual plots.

To have your say on the new primary school see consultations.oxfordshire.gov.uk/consult.ti/graven_hill_primary/consultation