An outstanding school will hire more teachers in a bid to keep soaring class sizes under 30.

Thomas A Becket Middle School, in Glebeside Avenue, Worthing, will expand so that it has seven forms in Year 7 next school year.

Currently it has six forms of entry, but with more people moving to the town, increasing numbers of children are due to enter the school in coming years.

This would push class sizes up. So the school has decided to expand so it can still take pupils within its catchment area while keeping class sizes lower.

The cost of extra teachers will be covered because the school receives funding per pupil.

Headteacher John Gadd said currently and in the past class sizes have exceeded 30.

But he added that, although there will be more pupils in the school, in the future there will not be more than 30 pupils in each lesson.

Government regulations mean that key stage one class sizes have to stay below 30, although higher years can have more pupils although it is not considered best practice.

A school spokesman said: “This will mean, for the future, that we are able to take more children who live within our catchment and whose parents want them to come to Thomas A Becket.

“This also means that we will be able to reduce class sizes for all new intakes, with an aim that no class will have more than 30 children, subject to appeals over which we have little control.”

Mr Gadd added: “Lots of children in our catchment area want to come here.

“We currently have about 180 to 190 in a year, but this will go up to 210.

“More children live locally and the town is growing.”

A West Sussex County Council spokesman said: “Class size is a decision made by school governing bodies and varies considerably due to a range of factors.

“The only legal requirement is for infant class sizes to be no more than 30.”