Plans to create a "hideous" multi-million pound teaching block at Oxford School have been defended.

A series of concerns have been expressed over the venture, which will see the existing music block demolished as part of the changes for the switch to a two-tier system of education in the city.

There are fears that the proposal, which will more than double the number of pupils on the school roll and see more teachers on site, will cause traffic problems.

And the "ski slope" design of the four-storey building which is being planned for the Glanville Road school has also come under fire. City council planning committee member Maureen Christian branded it "pretty hideous".

However, headteacher Ian Johnson defended the project. He said: "I'm really excited by the design and I think it's a matter of taste. It's a different and unusual building.

"The block will not be seen from the road as it is shielded by other buildings and we have not had to lose any of our fields."

City council planning committee members highlighted a number of concerns about the extension, apart from the design, including its impact on traffic levels in the area. Similar concerns have been expressed about the impact of major changes at other city schools, as they gear up for the switch from three-tier to two-tier.

There were also fears that pupils would find the new design - which will slope down from a height of more than 15 metres - easy to scale.

The new performing arts and teaching block, along with a single-storey link to the existing building, would be built on the site of the existing music room and its associated buildings.

It would contain 21 classrooms and a sixth form unit and would enable the school roll to increase from 593 to 1,350. A total of 68 extra staff would be employed.

Mr Johnson said very few pupils came to school by car and, although that would increase, counter-measures would be taken.

"We will be asking the pupils to come up with a travel plan and look at how they can encourage people to use alternative means of transport.