A school has closed its restaurant and hair and beauty salons to make room for more pupils.

Folkestone Academy says in needs the space for more classrooms particularly with the closure of the town’s Pent Valley School this year.

The news was broken to both sets of customers in letters from head Andrew Milliken on Thursday, the day the Academy Lane school celebrated success in its GCSEs.

Mr Milliken said that the hair and beauty salons were already closed to the public and the restaurant would not re-open in September.

Students worked at both services for vocational experience.

The letter said: “Folkestone Academy has seen a significant increase in demand for places over recent years and the closure of Pent Valley School led Folkestone Academy to accept further students into each year group at the start of the academic year 2016-17.

“This has led to dramatically increased demands on space within the Academy building and we have to prioritise the needs of the students we serve.“

The two letters are on the school website.

Salon customers were told that East Kent College, at Folkestone's Shorncliffe Road, has state-of-the art beauty rooms as an alternative.

Restaurant customers were told that any bookings for the academic year 2017-18 have to be cancelled.

He added that East Kent College had another student-led restaurant that could be used instead.