Wells housing growth could squeeze school places

By Laura Linham 26th Aug 2026

Local News by Laura Linham 8 minutes ago

More than 1,000 homes planned across the Wells area could leave local schools struggling to accommodate demand, according to Somerset Council's latest Education Places Strategy. The council says 631 homes across 28 developments have already been approved or are under construction, with another 422 homes across nine applications still being considered.

Major developments include sites at Elm Close, Wookey Hole and Fosse Way, with further proposals at Wookey Road, New House Farm and Wells Rugby Club. If all the expected housing is built, the council forecasts pupil numbers at The Blue School will exceed its current capacity from 2028 before beginning to fall again from 2033.

The Blue School currently has 1,113 pupils against a capacity of 1,350, leaving 237 places on paper. However, Somerset Council aims to keep at least five per cent of places available for pupils moving into the area during the school year, reducing the amount of capacity it considers genuinely spare.

The squeeze is already tighter at Wells' four urban primary schools, which have a combined capacity of 781 and currently have 738 pupils on roll. That leaves 43 places, but once the council's five per cent allowance for in-year admissions is taken into account, the remaining surplus falls to just 0.51 per cent.

Council forecasts suggest housing growth could take pupil numbers beyond the existing urban primary capacity during the early 2030s. Across the seven rural primary schools in the wider Wells planning area there is more breathing room, with 659 pupils occupying 834 places, although forecasts including future housing show numbers rising steadily towards capacity.

Wookey Primary School could also need to be expanded if several developments currently moving through the planning system are approved. The strategy does not say that expansion is certain, but identifies it as a potential requirement if the additional housing goes ahead.

The wider Wells school planning area includes Chilcompton, where 345 homes have recently been approved within the catchment of St Vigor and St John Primary School. The school is full and is expected to remain so, although the council believes neighbouring schools in Bath and North East Somerset currently have enough capacity to accommodate demand generated by those developments.

A further application for 66 homes in Chilcompton would require additional school places if it is approved. Somerset Council says it would seek developer contributions through Section 106 agreements or the Community Infrastructure Levy to meet the full cost.

The strategy says Wells currently has enough early years provision overall, although further housing could create a need for more places for children aged under two. Its theoretical calculations show a surplus of 38 full-time equivalent places for under-twos, but providers surveyed in autumn 2025 reported having no unoccupied places available for that age group.

The figures underline how quickly the picture could change as new housing comes forward across Wells and its surrounding villages. For now, there is capacity in parts of the system, but the council's own forecasts show that some of that headroom could disappear as developments are built and families move in.