Fulham Boys School is among those looking to expand. Image, Tony McAteer/Gleeds

Land equivalent to the size of Windsor Castle is needed to deliver additional education space across England, according to newly-released figures.

LocateED, the Government-owned education property advisory firm, has published its latest list of live site requirements for 2025.

Incorporated in 2016, LocateED was established to buy and develop sites for the Government’s Free Schools Programme and has a framework agreement with the Department for Education (DfE).

It has individual acquisition budgets to spend on sites that can deliver 10,000-175,000sq ft of gross internal floor area on brownfield, greenfield, and mixed-use sites as well as in existing buildings that can satisfy size requirements, making it one of the largest land purchasers in the UK.

In its April site requirements list, it shows the most demand is in the North of England and London, where there are requirements for 204,000sq ft and 187,000sq ft of floorspace respectively.

In the North schools are needed in Durham, East Leeds, and Keighley; while in the capital land is being sought in central London, Hammersmith and Fulham, Camden, Canary Wharf, and Merton.

A further 148,000sq ft of floorspace is needed in the South of England and 60,000sq ft in the Midlands and East Anglia, with operators looking for sites in Crawley, Devon, Southampton, Nottingham, and Bolsover.

Possible sites could include whole or part buildings with development or extension capacity, land and development sites on or off market, derelict and heritage buildings, and space on wider developments.