Plans to expand Maple Infants’ and St Andrew’s and St Mark’s Junior schools in Surbiton have been scrapped after Kingston Council bowed to pressure from campaigners.

Parents learned today that a new two-storey classroom block will not be built and the schools’ intake will not be expanded in September.

The move could affect dozens of Year 2 children at Maple Infants’, who now may not gain places at the next-door junior school.

Kingston parent Lisa Dhawan said: “It’s going to have a huge detrimental impact on us. We don’t know where we can go from here. They have to come up with something really good.

“Parents are up in arms.”

Matthew Paul , head of school place commissioning for Kingston and Richmond, wrote to parents: “The council has decided to withdraw the planning application for the proposed building work at St Andrew's and St Mark's and to withdraw the statutory proposal to expand both schools on a permanent basis from September 2014.

“The reasons for the withdrawal primarily relate to concerns with the building designs and a wish for there to be more time to resolve those concerns.

“Whilst we are very aware that many parents will be concerned by this news, we will do our utmost to work with the schools to resolve the outstanding issues.”

A ‘bulge’ class of 30 pupils will enter Maple Infants’ in September, but the Comet understands there are no plans for similar arrangements at St Andrew’s and St Mark’s.

Parent Sharron Sumner, 42, of Grove Road, opposed the design of the new block. She said: “Obviously we feel for those parents who are concerned that they won’t get in.

“We felt all along that you can’t ruin a really good school in order to expand another. You have to look into what benefits the majority of students.”

What do you think? Write to letters@surreycomet.co.uk.