The school is to be sited on a playing field site in Redland

On Friday, councillors rejected calls for the new school to be built in Stoke Lodge and opted instead to build new premises on fields in the Redland area of the city.

They hope it will open in the leafy suburb in 2006 and will take up to 1,000 pupils.

Councillors had twice turned down proposals to build primary schools on the fields, which are in a conservation area.

We recognise that in a situation like this it is not possible to satisfy everyone Councillor Peter Abraham

The catchment area for the new school will include the Henleaze Notch - the area south of Brecon Road - and roads in the Walliscote Road, Walliscote Avenue, Ridgehill and Sates Avenue area.

Councillor Peter Abraham said: "The Cabinet has been faced with a challenging decision. The overwhelming view in the consultation was the desire to get on and build a new school.

"We have accepted that any deviation from the proposals would mean delay and, in certain cases, reconsultation, which could jeopardise funding for the school.

"We recognise that in a situation like this it is not possible to satisfy everyone, but the decision to give the go-ahead will make a real contribution to raising the standards of education in the whole of Bristol, which is our sole objective."

New unit

Plans for the school are part of a huge shake-up of education services in the city.

Exam results in Bristol are among the lowest in the country and many parents send their children to school outside the area.

The council hopes a series of measures, including the new school, will help reverse this trend.

At the meeting, councillors also agreed proposals for the catchment area for the new 1080-place Fairfield School, to be built on the St Thomas More school site in Stottbury Road, Montpelier.

This proposal has caused problems with some locals, angry that new playing fields for the school could be build on nearby meadowland.

The new school will include a unit for deaf and hearing-impaired children.