MORE places will be available at one of Bristol's most over-subscribed schools as a result of a multi-million pound revamp.

Cotham School will be able to take in 216 pupils each year rather than the current 180.

Last year, a total of 725 applications were made for places at the school in Cotham Lawn Road.

Forty seven families went to appeal to try to get their children in, and six of those were successful.

Cotham is one of the highest performers in the city at GCSE and earlier this year was rated "good" by Ofsted.

Inspectors said it had improved rapidly in the past three years and was in an outstanding position to make more progress.

Cotham is one of six Bristol schools in line for major refurbishment next year in the £100-million final phase of the Government's Building Schools for the Future scheme.

Its 1930s grammar school front will be retained, but there will be extensive rebuilding behind.

Head teacher Malcolm Willis said staff and students were delighted with the planned revamp, which will be carried out by the Bristol Local Education Partnership, made up of the council, builder Skanska and the Government agency Partnerships for Schools.

He said: "The plans are really innovative and quite inspiring as well as being practical spaces for students' learning.

"They will replace some very outmoded and impractical spaces in art, design technology and science in particular."

The new buildings will be linked by a covered external walkway.

Work is due to begin on site in the new year.

Cotham's plans will be considered by city councillors today at a meeting of the development control (central) committee.

Proposals include a two-storey extension, a new student "hub", an external amphitheatre and a multi- use games area.

Redland and Cotham Amenities Society has welcomed "a scheme that is intended to remedy many past mistakes" at the site.

The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (Cabe) has praised the plans for the constricted Cotham campus.

Plans for the other five Bristol schools being redeveloped by the LEP – St Mary Redcliffe and Temple, St Bede's, St Bernadette's, Ashton Park and Florence Brown – have been submitted to the council and are expected to be considered soon.