Boris Johnson calls for more money for London schools

The Mayor will meet Mr Gove alongside the chair of London Councils Jules Pipe and will ask him to set aside a bigger share of the Education Secretary's £500million fund for additional school places in London.

When Mr Gove announced the fund in July London Councils warned that the shortage of school places across London had become critical and predicted a shortfall of around 70,000 over the next four years.

The Mayor told the Standard: "By most indicators, London is facing the greatest shortage in school places of any region in the UK. Without sufficient funding, local authorities in the capital would soon be unable to guarantee a permanent school place for all children.

"This would not only create difficulties for many families, it would also damage our city's future as a place for innovation and talent. I am determined to make the case for London's funding needs today and am hopeful that the Secretary of State will share our view."

Any extra money given to London will go to local authorities and will be allocated to those most in need of school places.

London Councils has warned that there are currently around 11,000 pupils, mainly in Reception to Year 2 classes, who are being taught in temporary classrooms because local authorities have received insufficient funding for permanent school places.

Munira Mirza, Mr Johnson's youth advisor, said: "This is a really important issue for London. The shortage of school places is probably the most serious issue facing education in London. We are hopeful that after today's meeting the Secretary of State will have recognised that. This is our attempt to ensure that he is aware of how critical this issue is for London.

"The burden is greater in London than elsewhere. We cannot afford to let this slip."

Sources today claimed it is likely that the Mayor will get his wish and hinted that Mr Gove will shortly announce additional funding for the capital.

A Department for Education spokesman said: "We know schools across the country, particularly in London, are facing a shortage of primary school places. That's why we doubled the funding for school places this year to £800million and topped this up with an extra £500million in July this year.

"We will shortly be announcing the allocation of this additional funding, but we're clear that it needs to be targeted at those areas most in need."