COURT Fields Community School in Wellington is to build three new classrooms to cope with a dramatically rising roll.

Figures released in Somerset County Council's School Organisation Plan (SOP) this week show pupil numbers rising from just over 830 this year to nearly 900 in 2007.

And those figures don't include extra pupils from planned housing developments at Longforth Farm, Westford, and Fox's Mill - assuming they get approval.

Court Fields has become a popular choice for parents in recent years, enjoying a sharp rise in its roll, which was only 670 in 2001.

The new facility, costing in the region of £400,000, will be located near the Design and Technology block and plans are set to be submitted in the next couple of months.

In the primary sector, the situation is not so rosy as a significant population dip could mean an estimated 500 surplus places in the Wellington and Wiveliscombe area's primary schools by 2007.

The SOP shows most local primary schools will see their roll decrease over the next few years, which could lead to teacher redundancies and merged year groups.

In Wellington, all three primary schools are predicted to have a lower roll in 2007, although some of the slack could be taken up by incoming pupils from new houses.

In the Wiveliscombe area, the primary population is due to remain relatively stable, going from 168 surplus places this year to 211 in 2007.