A PRIMARY school has pushed back its opening date due to a lack of applications.

Malvern Vale School, in Link Top, was set to open in January 2018 but this has been deferred until September 2018.

Only two children applied to study at the £4m school, which is a ‘satellite’ expansion of Somers Park primary school and will have the same headteacher and resources.

The head of Mercian Educational Trust, which will oversee the school, said the number of applications was down to an ‘exceptionally’ low birth rate.

Stuart Sewell, chief executive officer of the trust, said: “There’s a low birth rate for this academic year across Malvern.

“The local authority commissioned the new school. It will be handed to the trust when it’s completed. They did do their research.

“It said...there’s a strong need for a new-build in the area.”

The school was due to open after the completion of construction work in January, with pupils attending Somers Park in their first term.

Siani Driver, of Worcestershire Mums Network, said: “It would help if the school was there to physically see it. You wouldn’t book for a restaurant that isn’t there.

“I wouldn’t send my child to a school if I didn’t know what it was going to look like or know the teachers.

“I’m sure it will be needed in the future. The schools I’ve been around said it is quite a quiet year for children coming up to reception.”

A Worcestershire county council spokesman said: “[We] carried out a full consultation in 2014 due to pressure on places in North Malvern and the anticipated housing in the area.

“This consultation supported the building of a new school on the Malvern Vale site to provide a local school for this housing development.

“We will be speaking to the school to decide what to do going forward and what can be done to maximise take up in September 2018.”

This year the school was only accepting applications for children aged four to five, who would join reception class.