A new school very nearly came within the grasp of Surbiton parents before it moved across to Kingston, but new information still shows the need for another primary school in the area.

In 2013 the Education Funding Agency (EFA), along with international free school provider Gems, offered to set up a free school in Surbiton, but ended up buying Swan House in the middle of Kingston town centre instead.

Statistics now gathered and published by the Greater London Assembly (GLA) show the predicted number of school places needed for four-year-olds in Berrylands in 2018 will be 144 – a rise of 12 per cent on the current figures moving on to primary education.

Similar estimations were made for St Mark’s ward, where 114 nursery school places would be needed – an 8 per cent rise – again highlighting the need for a primary school in Surbiton.

Dad-of-two Ross Logan, of Beaconsfield Road, in Surbiton, said: “Will we still be in Surbiton [in a couple of years] – one because it’s expensive and two, will we get our boys into a school?

“It’s a concern for a lot of people.

“We are putting all our eggs in one basket, so another school would be welcome, but I can't see that happening any time soon. Certainly not in the time Findlay needs one.”

The school that never was – Surbiton Primary Academy – had its own website, which was quickly changed to Kingston Primary Academy after the plans fell through.

The Kingston school is expected to open in September 2016.

Jodie Croft, from Gems, said a year had been spent searching for a site in Surbiton, but a space big enough was never found.

She agreed anyone hoping to put a school in the area would struggle.

Mrs Croft said: “There was a lot of disappointment when we moved from our part as well.”

St Mark’s Councillor Liz Green, leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition, said: “I don’t think there’s any argument by anybody that the EFA, who buys up free schools, has any sense whatsoever.

“We obviously need a school in the Berrylands area towards Tolworth, somewhere at the Surbiton, Tolworth border.

“We’ve known this for some time.”

Councillor Andrea Craig, cabinet member for schools, said: “We always said that we needed extra places in Surbiton, which is why we directed Gems towards that area when they first suggested to us that they wanted to establish a free school in the borough.

“Unfortunately the EFA was unable to secure a site in Surbiton within the requisite timescales and we agreed with them that the school should instead open in Kingston, another area of high need for places.”

She added work to secure a site to open a free school in Surbiton that would open "in the next few years, when it will be needed," was continuing. 

A Department for Education spokesman said 2,750 primary school places were created in Kingston between 2009/10 and 2013/14 and cited the opening of Kingston Community School and Kingston Academy (a secondary school) as creating more than 2,000 places. 

He said: "We want every parent to have access to a good school place for their child. That is why we doubled the funding for school places to £5bn in the last parliament, correcting the 200,000 decline in places between 2004 and 2010.

"To support schools in Kingston we are investing £4.5m between 2015 and 2018 to spend on new places."