A SCHOOL in Worcester has secured the green light from the Government to expand into a sixth form next year.

Christopher Whitehead Language College is celebrating after ministers gave it the nod to offer further education from September 2015.

The exciting move, which has been in the pipeline for months, has been described as "wonderful news for the whole of Worcester" by head teacher Neil Morris.

It means the school, which is in Bromwich Road in St John's, will be taking around 250 extra pupils eventually, with a curriculum being drawn up before a recruitment drive takes place to find around 20 new staff.

The Department for Education (DFE) has formally accepted the plan, with the first year's intake expected to be around 60 to 70 pupils before it steadily grows year-on-year.

The school has two spare halls which it plans to turn into a sixth form centre, saying it will offer students "a great choice" of A Levels.

Mr Morris said: "We are so delighted with this, it's extremely exciting for the school and for Worcester in general.

"Our pupils have great loyalty to Christopher Whitehead and by making it an 11-18 school we'll be able to offer them that opportunity to stay here.

"It's taken us three years to get to this stage, we've had to go through various phases to get here and I am confident our sixth form will flourish."

Mr Morris said he was looking at offering A Levels in traditional subjects like law and dentistry as well as alternatives like sociology, politics and psychology.

He also said he's giving thought to opening the sixth form at 9.45 each day to avoid gridlock in the city.

"It's something I'm looking at because we want to do our bit for the city," he said.

"This is brilliant news for the staff, the pupils, everyone connected with Christopher Whitehead."

At the moment the school has over 1,100 students and those who want to do A Levels have to leave to study elsewhere.

Worcester Sixth Form College and Tudor Grange Academy currently offer A Levels elsewhere.

The application to the DFE, which was made one year ago, was accepted in August.

A DFE spokesman said it was determined to help schools "stretch and challenge students" and expand choice wherever possible.

It will be funded on a per-pupil basis.

Worcester MP Robin Walker said: "This is excellent news for the school and for Worcester too.

"I supported them when the application was made and am pleased to see it was accepted."