Pupil numbers are falling in most Winchester primary schools, new figures show.

Winnall Primary School has space for 270 pupils, but in January 2002, there were just 185 on the school roll, leaving a surplus capacity of 31%.

Stanmore and Weeke have also been hard hit, but education chiefs say that there are no plans to close or amalgamate any schools in the city.

Instead, spare classrooms may be used for teaching specialist subjects such as art, drama and informatioin technology. In addition, a new nursery is to be built at Winnall, boosting pre-school provision in the city.

Deputy chief education officer for Hampshire County Council, George Heller, said: "It does not mean just because schools have significant surplus capacity, they will be subject to reorganisation.

"Where we have surplus accommodation, it gives us the opportunity to work with headteachers and governors to establish specialist curriculum areas which they may have not been able to provide before because the schools were full."

Rocketing property prices and changing demographics are being blamed for the fall in pupil numbers.

"With the average priced home in the county now £171,000 and rising and the average salary £20,400, many couples with young children cannot afford a mortgage. And the lack of public-sector housing is making the affordable homes crisis worse.

Almost half the residents of Winnall council estate have purchased their own homes under the Right-to-Buy scheme, introduced by the Tory government in the early 'Eighties.

Chris Pines, a teacher at Winnall Primary School, said: "The estate was built in the 1960s and the school had 13 classes.

"We taught in huts, the hall and the community centre. Now, there are seven classes with only 18 or 19 pupils in the infant groups, which enables us to give them an excellent start."

Mr Pines, a Labour city councillor, said demographics of the area had also changed, with more students living in multi-occupancy lets.

Other parts of the city have also been affected. Weeke Primary School has a roll of 222, with room for 66 more pupils (23%), while Stanmore Primary School is 90 below its maximum figure.

Official estimates from Hampshire County Council show that in January, 2007, numbers are expected to decline still further.

In Winchester, only Western Primary School and St Peter's Roman Catholic Primary School are fully subscribed.

Meanwhile in New Alresford, Sun Hill Junior School has a 27% shortfall in pupils and has already applied for a reduction in the standard admission number from 86 to 66 per year.

This means that should numbers rise again, they will get extra funding for new classrooms and facilities.

"This is a lovely place to live," said one resident. "But it is terribly expensive and couples with children simply cannot afford to move here."