A St Albans primary school is set to double the number of reception places it offers.

Currently there are just 30 new reception places available at St Peter's Primary School in Cottonmill Lane.

But at a meeting of the county council cabinet, councillors agreed that that should DOUBLE to 60.

Councillors also agreed that the official 'published admission number' - or PAN - will officially increase from September 2021.

But under a 'local agreement' councillors heard that the school will offer 60 new places this September.

The decision to increase the PAN was taken as part of an annual review of the number of places available at all community and voluntary schools in the county.

Executive member for education, libraries and localism Cllr Terry Douris said the increase from one form of entry to two at the school reflected demographic pressures.

And he said the increase had been made possible by the construction of additional facilities.

Every year the county council has to determine the 'published admission number' - that's the number of places available - at each community and voluntary school in Hertfordshire.

The report to the cabinet states: "The county council's existing admission arrangements work well with nearly 97 per cent of children allocated a ranked primary school in 2019 and over 93 per cent a ranked secondary school.

"Maintaining existing arrangements, with only changes to the published admission number at some primary schools, will minimise parental anxiety around school places and maximise the benefits of existing knowledge of the allocation process."