District education heads may raise the number of places available at an oversubscribed Ilkley primary school.

Ashlands Primary School this year agreed to give reception class places to 60 children, although its official Published Admission Number (PAN) is 45.

The Leeds Road school – which was the top choice locally among parents of 2011 new starters – also has 50 pupils in two of its other year groups, and exceeds the 45-child figure in a further two year groups.

Bradford Council is considering raising the official admissions figure to 60.

Parents, governing bodies, staff and religious authorities connected with the four district primary schools have until January 27 to give the council their views on the proposal.

Ashlands head teacher Eileen Fitzpatrick said: “In making our response to the proposal, we will concentrate on our responsibility to provide high quality education for our community.

“If, year-on-year, larger groups of children are coming to Ashlands, Bradford Council must work with us and deliver on their pledge to provide ‘fit for purpose’ accommodation.

“The excellent schools all along the Wharfe Valley will have their own ideas and we all share the view that matching the number of places available with the number of children in the area needing a school place can be a fine balancing act.”

The council has also admitted the actual numbers of children allocated places at Ilkley schools has exceeded the number registered with the health authority – a concern raised in recent years by councillors.

It puts this down to the popularity of Ilkley’s schools, and children living in Denton and Middleton, part of North Yorkshire, attending their nearest available schools in Ilkley.

The voluntary-aided Sacred Heart Primary, on Valley Drive, also caters for families from nearby villages who choose a Catholic faith education for their children. Consultation responses can be made to Nina Mewse in School Organisation and Place Planning, Future House, Bolling Road, Bradford.