Plans to extend an overcrowded school in Inverness have been approved by council officials.
Milton of Leys Primary opened just over two years ago but is already close to capacity because of children joining from outside the catchment area.
A higher-than-expected number of new starts has also contributed to the problem.
And with thousands of new homes planned in the Inverness area over the next few years, the crisis is expected to deepen.
The council plans to build four new classrooms to cope with the influx. Officials approved the scheme under their delegated powers.
However, funding is committed for only three additional classrooms.
Councillors committed £650,000 to the project earlier this year and it is hoped that two classrooms could be finished by August next year.
However, one local councillor said that all four classrooms should be built at the same time. Ken Gowans, who represents Inverness South, said: “It is good news that planning permission has been granted for four classrooms.
“I feel that we need to look at building all four. I have asked officers for assurances that this will be looked at positively. It makes sense to build all four at the same time because of the benefits in terms of cost and disruption.”
The £7million school won a design award at the Highlands and Islands Architecture and Design awards shortly after it opened.
It was one of the first schools in north to have wireless network access throughout the building.
The 11 classrooms were designed flexibly, with foundations in place for four rooms to accommodate up to 140 extra pupils if the school’s population was to increase.
Further facilities include all-weather floodlit playing fields, a dance studio and a multipurpose gym hall that are available for use by the local community.
However, the situation reached tipping point earlier this year when it was revealed that 42 primary six pupils would be taught by two teachers in the open-plan library.