AN EDUCATION support centre in Nailsea is being extended to enable staff to teach more subjects.

North Somerset Council has applied for planning permission to build three new classrooms at the Inclusion Support Centre in Pound Lane.

Students are taken out of mainstream schools to be taught at the centre for a variety of reasons including difficult behaviour, medical conditions and anxiety.

A council spokesman said: “The new extension is to enable us to teach students in larger groups, preparing them for return to mainstream education. It will also allow us to offer a broader curriculum, giving specialist teaching spaces for science and art for example.”

Pupils attend the centre if they have been permanently excluded from school, if they are recovering from an operation or suffering from life threatening illnesses, or if they become pregnant.

Children may also be referred to the facility if they have been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome or emotionally-based school refusal.