THORNBURY'S New Siblands special school could leave the town and move to a different area under plans for a shake up in special education provision.

South Gloucestershire Council education chiefs say the school in Easton Hill Road is already too small and has no room to grow on its current site.

Two schemes are currently under consideration, both involving relocating the school to a new site in the district's "north fringe".

One option involves building a new 90-place joint primary and secondary school at a cost of around £8million. The other, costed at around £9.5million, would see separate primary and secondary departments being provided at separate mainstream school sites.

Head teacher Paul Casson said pupils numbers were expected to increase significantly over the next seven years.

"By 2012 we expect to have 90 pupils rather than our current roll of 66," he said. "The school on its present site is too small to meet projected needs and the council is quite correct in looking to the future and ensuring we have the necessary provision.

"My own view is that New Siblands School has a very bright future - but not necessarily on the site it occupies at present."

A special "stakeholders" meeting was held this week for parents, staff and governors. One parent, who asked not be named, said it would be a sad day when the school left Thornbury.

"One of the best things about New Siblands is the fact that it's a small school where all the children know all the teachers and the other children," she said. "Many special needs children would not be able to cope in a large school.

"The answer seems obvious: keep New Siblands open with improvements (ie building hydrotherapy pools, etc, on the unused playing field) and build another small special school in another area."

South Gloucestershire Council spokesman Debra Davies said: "We are currently consulting on a range of proposals to improve Special Educational Needs provision in South Gloucestershire.

"The cabinet has agreed to put forward a bid to the Department for Education and Skills for capital funding."