Middle classes 'are overburdening state schools'

Families no longer able to afford school fees are creating a crisis in state school education, it has been reported.

Research by the Audit Commission advises councils to offer more support to residents hit by the recent economic crisis, to avoid a "second recession".

According to the report, more than a third of councils have already reported increased demand for school places, those with jobs in education may be interested to hear.

A spokesperson for the commission said: "There is evidence of behaviour change due to the recession: children moving from private to state sector schools."

The change could be attributed to a combination of rising unemployment and the slowdown of the property market preventing young families moving out from urban areas.

Steve Bundred, the chief executive of the commission, told the Daily Telegraph that the need for state school places could lead to children being educated in portakabins.

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