A headteacher is urging Southend Council to bid for refurbishment funding for her school after it missed out on a pilot scheme.

Southend Council identified Westborough Primary School, Westcliff, in April as a prime candidate for the Government's building schools for the future programme to refit primaries.

However, the council did not put Westborough forward for the pilot scheme.

The school, which was built nearly 100 years ago, is now too late to qualify for the pilot scheme and will have to wait until April, 2008, when more money will be available.

Jenny Davies, headteacher, said the money was urgently needed in the school which has cut its annual intake of pupils from 90 to 60 this month.

Mrs Davies said: "The school needs to be, in many ways, refurbished and brought up to the standards one expects in education today.

"We are in a building that was built in 1911 so it's going to present certain difficulties. We have had extensive work done here previously.

"Our school is packed and that's putting some pressure on space.

"Because of the way the building is at the moment, we will be taking fewer children. Other schools will be absorbing some of the children.

"There is now money being made available to primary schools.

"We would welcome the council making a submission on our behalf to the Department for Education and Skills.

"I certainly hope they will make the deadline in this phase."

A council report in April said the school would be a high priority in terms of both condition and suitability for a major rebuild as part of this Government programme.

However, the authority never made a formal application for the pilot scheme nor did it explore any other options.

A spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills confirmed that the deadline had now passed.

It received 85 expressions of interest and will announce which schools will be part of the pilot soon. It will then be rolled out nationally from April, 2008.

There was no one available at the council for comment.