Shepton Mallet school places squeezed by 840-home pipeline

By Laura Linham 26th Aug 2026

Local News by Laura Linham 14 minutes ago

Shepton Mallet could face growing pressure on school places as 840 homes move through the planning system, according to Somerset Council's latest Education Places Strategy. The council says primary pupil numbers are expected to exceed schools' planned admission limits from 2032, while Whitstone School is forecast to reach the same point from 2034.

The housing figures show 135 homes across 24 applications have already been approved or are under construction, while another 705 homes across seven applications are still under consideration. Most approved schemes are for 10 homes or fewer, although larger developments at Coalpit Lane and Chapelfield have also been approved.

The biggest single proposal is at Cannards Grave Road, where an application for 620 homes was submitted in 2018 and has a resolution to grant planning permission. A site for a new primary school is proposed within that development to help meet demand there and across the town.

There is still room in Shepton Mallet's existing primary schools overall. The three urban schools have capacity for 683 pupils and had 573 on roll in spring 2026, while the five rural schools have capacity for 739 pupils and had 504 pupils.

The council's forecast, however, shows the expected number of pupils at Shepton's urban primary schools moving above their combined planned admission limit from 2032. The chart on page three shows the housing-adjusted forecast continuing to rise after that point, although it remains below total net capacity through the forecast period.

Rural primary schools are in a more comfortable position, with the council saying there is sufficient capacity to take additional children generated by housing development. The page four forecast shows pupil numbers remaining well below both total capacity and the combined admission limit through to 2036.

At secondary level, Whitstone School currently has more headroom, with 545 pupils on roll against a capacity of 770. The council says there is enough capacity to meet demand from new housing until 2034, when the school's planned admission limit is expected to be exceeded.

Early years provision is already a tighter part of the picture. Somerset Council's theoretical calculations show a deficit of 14 full-time equivalent places for children aged under two, while two-year-olds have a surplus of just three places.

The council says any additional housing will require more early years places, either through expansion of existing provision or the creation of a new nursery. A primary school site, which would include a nursery, has already been secured in the town to help meet demand from future housing.

For now, Shepton Mallet still has spare school capacity on paper, but the council's own forecasts show that margin narrowing as housing growth feeds through into pupil numbers. Primary admission limits are expected to come under pressure first, followed by Whitstone, while provision for the youngest children is already the tightest part of the system.