664,000 more pupils in 5yrs

SECONDARY schools are set to have 664,470 more pupils within five years.

The total of 3,135,534 will jump to 3,800,004 by 2023/24, the Department for Education forecasts.

The increase is down to a spike in the birth rate in the early 2000s.

School heads said it was “absolutely crucial” to plan for the increase now.

Ministers said that 825,000 places had been created since 2010.