Children will be taught in temporary classrooms for years to come as the demand for primary places remains, despite a new £11.5m school being built in a bid to ease the shortage.

Kingston Council announced six schools would take on additional reception classes in September 2012, providing places for an extra 180 children.

An extra 30 places were added to St Joseph’s Catholic Primary, King’s Oak Primary, Maple Infant and St Mary’s CofE Primary before January 2012 in anticipation of the shortage.

But further unanticipated demand, specifically in New Malden and Surbiton, has now forced the authority to respond and create an additional 30 places at Malden Parochial CofE Primary and Lime Tree Primary.

Kingston’s executive member for education Councillor Liz Green said: “We look at what we can do to put a bulge class in to meet a certain need.

“They are a reaction to the need. We do it every year.

“The problem if you do it in advance is you could end up with over supply and you might have it in the wrong place.”

Lime Tree, which is due to open in September, was part of Kingston’s long-term permanent expansion plan to provide additional places and will cater for 420 pupils and 21 students with special educational needs.

Extra places can be accommodated at the school, but at Malden Parochial CofE a temporary classroom will be brought in for the new school year.

Coun Green said they were aware the permanent expansion would not be enough to meet demand but given financial and space restrictions the school could not be any larger and the extra places would only be temporary.

She said: “We reacted positively to the demand as much as we can with the cost involved with a permanent expansion and put in place bulge classes.

“In Kingston every pupil who has wanted a place has a place in a state school if they are a resident.”

The extra places add to the existing 1,830 permanent reception spaces, bringing the total capacity for September to 2,010.

Hundreds of pupils have been educated in schools with bulging classes and temporary classrooms after the council was hit by a rising birth rate and fall in pupils in private schools.

The borough first faced demand for extra places in 2008 when 212 children initially failed to receive any of their first three preferences, and seven temporary classrooms were put in place.

For information contact the school admissions team on 020 8547 4610 or email school.admissions@rbk.kingston.gov.uk.