THE Ribble Valley could get 250 more high school places in next two years if a site can be found for a school to replace Bowland High -- according to Lancashire County Council education chairman Hazel Harding.

But protesters today said they were worried that the places that could be created would not cover the rise in the number of secondary school pupils in the area.

County Coun Harding said after yesterday's meeting of the school organisational committee, which agreed plans for the county's education for the next five years, that Lancashire Education Authority would not be able to gain funding for an extra school and therefore planned to replace Bowland High in Grindleton on a bigger site.

"We have no chance of getting a new school.

"With the projected number of children in the Ribble Valley area there wouldn't be a case to provide a new school in addition to Ribblesdale and Bowland high schools," she said.

Bowland currently has 354 pupils, but could be replaced by a 600-pupil school on a site large enough for expansion, if necessary. Ribble Valley Borough Council officers have been asked to join the county's search for a site, which has been focusing on the east of the borough which takes in Gisburn, Chatburn and Sawley.

"Finding a site in the Ribble Valley is going to be hard, though, because we will be expected to pay premium rates.

"But even if we found a site tomorrow, the time it takes to go through the procedure means that we may not alleviate problems until the year after next," said County Coun Harding.

But Stuart Finch, spokesman for campaigners who want a new school in the Whalley/Langho area, said: "The number of pupils is set to dip next year but rise for the next six years. "We are worried that these new places will not be enough by the time a school is built in three or four years time.

"Hazel Harding has told us before that money is being kept in reserve for long-term places, but these plans are not going to help us in the next four years.

"We would like to know what she is going to do about the problems in the short term."

County Coun Harding said the authority was spending some money on increasing places but decisions still had to be made about whether they would be at Ribblesdale, Bowland or both.

The schools organisational committee agreed the plan, which had brought letters of objection from the borough council and Ribble Valley residents.