Parents in Andover have been shocked by the news that Hampshire County Council local schools will be around 10,000 school places short within the next Decade, and won’t even have enough places for all the reception year children this September. The Conservative led County Council have admitted that there is a shortfall in places for this coming September. And the shortfall is predicted to get even worse in future years!

Temporary classrooms were abolished when the Lib Dems ran the County Council, but with the Conservatives in charge, things are going backwards.
Only five years ago Hampshire closed Shepherd Spring School in Andover leaving other schools with a shortage of places and forced to use temporary class rooms. Tories on Test Valley Council recently ignored local concerns and voted to build houses on the school playing fields. Mums, dads and local campaigners are asking why the County Conservatives failed to see this crisis coming and why they are more concerned with selling land for housing than building schools. Andover Lib Dems are backing parents’ calls for long-term solutions for school places, not the quick fix backwards step of temporary classrooms!