NEW classrooms costing £11.5 million will be built at eight Birmingham primary and infant schools to cope with the city’s population boom.

The work will provide 1,771 additional places for children by the start of the next academic year in September.

Council bosses were forced to pay for emergency accommodation at scores of schools across Birmingham following a 21 per cent jump in the birth rate in seven years.

The latest work to be approved will involve building 51 new classrooms at eight schools.

They are Audley Primary in Stechford; Clifton Primary in Balsall Heath; Hodge Hill Juniors; Hall Green Infants; Moor Green in Moseley; Paget in Pype Hayes; Park Hill in Moseley and Robin Hood, Hall Green.

The council plans to spend at least £30 million on a three-stage project to deliver 10,000 extra primary school places by September next year with most of the money coming from an emergency Government grant.