A MAJOR shake-up of school places in the Bitterne and Townhill Park area is being proposed as education bosses try to solve the problem of Southampton's falling pupil numbers.

They have put forward a number of ideas, including amalgamating infant and junior schools, to try and reduce the number of spare places in schools due to falling birth rates.

Forecasts show that Bitterne Park, Glenfield, Harefield, Moorlands and Townhill infant schools will together have 324 spare places (28.4 per cent) by 2008.

At Beechwood, Bitterne Park, Harefield and Townhill junior schools education bosses predict there will be 220 spare places (16.3 per cent).

The review comes after the City Council's executive member for education Councillor Calvin Horner ignored officers' recommendations and opted not to close Moorlands Infant School, a 120-pupil school for four to seven-year-olds in Kesteven Way.

Instead, he asked for a more detailed review to take place that took account of surplus places in the area before any decision was made to close a school.

A feasibility study has also been carried out to look at turning Moorlands into a 210 primary school that would increase the overall surplus of infant and junior places across the area. It would also mean a drop in pupil numbers at Beechwood and Townhill junior schools which currently take on pupils from Moorlands.

Members of Southampton City Council's Lifelong Learning and Training Scrutiny Panel will today look at the ideas that have been put forward before making their recommendations.

A period of informal consultation will then take place with school staff and parents before a formal recommendation is put to further consultation at a Cabinet meeting on November 1.

The council is forced to reduce the number of surplus places because too many can make schools become financially unviable as their funding depends on the number of pupils they attract.

Under government guidelines, action must be taken if a school has 25 per cent or more surplus places.

Southampton City Council's head of resources, policy and planning Andrew Hind said: "There is not an easy answer to this. "Whatever approach we take this is going to involve some hard decisions. Really all we are doing is putting the facts on the table in front of everybody and asking for views for different ways ahead. We are facing the hard fact that numbers are dwindling and if we don't manage the situation in all probability we will face the possibility of schools just dwindling to the point where they are no longer viable."

POSSIBLE PROPOSALS:

1) Turn Moorlands into a primary: At present the infant school for four to seven-year-olds has 60 reception places, an admission roll of 180 and 97 pupils. According to government guidelines on measuring how many pupils can fit in a school it has a net capacity of 243. If turned into a primary school it would have an admission number of 30 with capacity for 210 pupils. (Removal of 33 surplus places).

2) Townhill Junior School: Reduce existing admission number of 102 to 90 to bring it into line with Townhill Infant School's admission number of 90. The school would no longer have to accommodate pupils from Moorlands Infant (48 places removed).

3) Reduce capacity of Beechwood Junior School so that the admission number was 60 instead of 90. This would mean 240 places instead of 360 (120 places removed).

4) Amalgamation of Beechwood Junior and Glenfield Infant School to create a 420-place primary school (118 places removed).

5) Amalgamation of Harefield Infant and Junior Schools to create a one form entry school with 210 places (140 places removed).