PLANS to relocate a Clitheroe nursery school to make room for more high school pupils has been thrown out by county education chiefs.

Lancashire County Council's schools and general purposes sub-committee have decided against plans to relocate the nursery school and redevelop the site so that more places can be added to Ribblesdale High, in Queens Road, Clitheroe.

County councillors also decided against providing free-standing accommodation for Year 7 pupils on playing fields at Ribblesdale High and providing a classroom block at Clitheroe Royal Grammar.

The decisions followed an announcement by education committee chairman County Coun Hazel Harding that the county is looking to build a 600-pupil high school to replace Bowland High in Grindleton, which has 354 pupils on roll, which will create about 250 new high school places. The school will cost approximately £6.2million on top of the costs of buying land, which County Coun Harding described as "premium rate."

A county spokesman said that the sub-committee agreed that more places should be made available at Bowland and that money should be set aside to build the replacement school.

County officers are currently trying to identify a site large enough for a 600-pupil school, with room for future expansion, with the help of Ribble Valley Borough Council. County Coun Tony Martin, who is chairman of the sub-committee, said: "The county council has been addressing the need for additional school places in the Ribble Valley for some time now."

He added that 468 additional places are planned for schools in the Ribble Valley. Lancashire Education Authority has agreed 200 extra places at Ribblesdale, 132 at Bowland, 60 at St Cecilia's RC High in Longridge and 76 at St Augustine's RC High in Billington.

A campaign for a new school started earlier this year when the parents' group Ribble Valley Schools for Ribble Valley Children launched And Counting... -- a campaign that will count down every day until a new school is opened. It was set up after Ribble Valley youngsters were offered places at schools in Hyndburn and Walton-le-Dale.

Borough councillors have received written confirmation from the county council saying that it is looking for a site in the east Clitheroe area, which takes in Chatburn, Waddington, Bolton-by-Bowland, Sawley and Gisburn.