Class of 46 is record crowding

STEPHEN CUNNINGHAM

A primary school has set an unwelcome national record - for having 46 pupils crammed into a classroom.

Overcrowding at the popular school has led to some of the eight- to-nine- year-olds having to crane their necks and strain their eyes just to catch a glimpse of the blackboard. Parents were summoned to an emergency meeting at the school in south Oxfordshire this week to hear the head say his hands were tied.

Michael Turner told them: "Until we are provided with adequate funding the position won't improve as I don't have the money to employ any more staff." Mr Turner, who runs the 221-pupil Goring C of E primary school, blamed the school's wide catchment area for the overcrowding.

George Barrett, a parent, said: "My daughter can barely even see the blackboard from where she sits at the back of the class."