A HEREFORDSHIRE school has missed out on multi-million-pound funding for expansion because it's too far from the city centre.

Herefordshire Council has been looking at investing in a school and has decided Aylestone School will get a new teaching block and sports hall so pupil numbers can rise from 450 to 750 by September 2026.

The funding will also make the school easier to reach on foot and by bike, the council said.

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But a council report said Kingstone School, seven miles west of Hereford, had been considered but missed out on the funding.

The school currently has around 606 pupils aged between 11 and 16 years old and a capacity of 680.

The report said the school was already able to cope with immediate pupil numbers, and expanding it “would result in transporting learners from the city to the Golden Valley and therefore would not align with the council’s commitment to climate change”, the council’s report explained.

Aylestone Hill’s ward councillor Ange Tyler, who is the cabinet member for housing and community, was “not supportive of the proposal to increase capacity at Aylestone without further exploring the barriers preventing the expansion of Whitecross High School”.

The council had considered investing in Whitecross Hereford school, which was its "preferred option".

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But the expansion would raise the annual charge that the council pays under an existing private finance initiative (PFI) deal with the school to an unaffordable level, the council said.

Councillor Diana Toynbee, cabinet member for children and families, said: “We are pleased to support the expansion of Aylestone School in line with our priority to invest in education and provide children with the best possible environment for their learning and quality of life.

"Demand for school places in the city is growing, and we are looking forward to making sure these improvements meet the needs of Hereford’s children and families.”