CONCERNED councillors fear a school is on the “pathway to closure” after a school site was shut due to fears a building could collapse.

Mistley Norman Primary School and Nursery site in Remercie Road has been closed after Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) was discovered.

Concerns have previously been raised that the lightweight material, which was used in the 1960s and 1980s, could collapse without warning.

It is understood pupils are currently being bussed to the Lawford Primary School site, where space has been offered to Mistley Norman.

Emma Wigmore, chief executive of the Vine Schools Trust, said neither the school nor the trust have the necessary funds to pay for the extensive £1.9million repair work.

In a letter to parents, she added: “We continue to explore any possible funding options with the Department of Education, to carry out the work needed.

“In the meantime, the children at Mistley are being educated off-site and this will continue in the autumn term.

“We will be reviewing the situation on a termly basis and keeping parents and carers updated.

“We understand that many families are exploring other school places for their children and we will support them if this is their choice.

“Mistley Norman is not closing at the end of this term and we expect children to return in the autumn term. We will be arranging for the school to continue, but in another setting.”

Mistley councillor Giancarlo Guglielmi was left “utterly indignant” after being denied entry to a meeting between the Vine School Trust and parents of the “many children whose educational future hangs in the balance”.

“This was an extremely humiliating experience and a very ill-thought decision,” he said.

“The trust seems to be on a pathway to shut down the school, which will be a disaster to the many families whose children go there.

“Parents will not be able to move their children to local schools as spaces are minimal.

“I accept that finding £1.9 million in the current climate is challenging but I do not believe the trust has exhausted all opportunities of revenue.”