Rydens Enterprise School has submitted plans to demolish and completely rebuild its school and sixth form, by selling off playing fields for 296 houses.

The school has decided current buildings are no longer fit for purpose, and that a simple update and refurbishment of various parts would not fix all of the issues.

More pupils would also be brought into the school, with numbers expanding from its current maximum of 1,378 to 1,688, with nine forms of entry.

Sport England has been consulted in regards to the loss of playing fields in the initial proposal, and said in a response to the plans: "The applicant refers to '... the utilisation of [a] relatively small part of the existing playing fields for housing development...'.

"The proposed development involves utilisation of 4.3ha, or just over a third, of the existing playing field for the new school building and the housing.

"This cannot be viewed as 'a relatively small part'. It would amount to a significant loss."

Mick Flannigan, of Rydens Road, said: "The proposals give the opportunity for a win-win outcome. The money from the sale of the land will fund the construction of a super new state-of-the-art school, with considerably more student places. The new housing development, if completed sensitively, would provide a lot of much-needed new dwellings in a prime location.

"I do, however, have concerns about the sheer density of the proposed housing. With too many dwellings crammed in, we could see real problems with traffic circulation and parking."

In order to keep up with all areas of the curriculum, the decision has been made to completely redesign the school, to better serve the staff and pupils.

The plans show the new build would completely replace the old, with land on the current site and playing fields redeveloped into housing units.

The school would retain its use of the old building while the new site is being built, despite planning to sell the land beforehand to fund the new project.

Another key element of the outlined proposal is that a new access way would be needed to get to and from the development site.

The council will have to consult on access to the site, which would run through public open space, before the land can be purchased by the school.

Rydens Enterprise School hopes to be in the new school by September 2016.

A public consultation will be held at 3pm-6pm on Monday, September 15 at Hersham Day Centre, Walton.