Britain: Nearly one million extra school places will be needed within eight years as rising birth rates and immigration push pupil numbers to a 50-year high

The population boom has already pushed many primary schools to breaking point and forced town halls to draw up emergency plans to teach children in disused shops and warehouses. Now figures from the Department for Education have shown the number of pupils in state schools is expected to rise to 7,950,000 by the end of the decade – 935,000 more than now. Primary and nursery schools will need an extra 736,000 places by 2020, with the remaining places required at secondary and special schools. The figures also show 106,000 fewer places would be needed by 2020 if migration was reduced to zero. The shortage of places is driven by immigration and a rise in the birth rate which began in 2002 and is predicted to continue until 2014. Overcrowded schools - another benefit of immigration, diversity and multiculturalism.