A SCHOOL building in Southend which has been empty for two years is set to be used for vulnerable children.

The former Cecil Jones College Lower School closed in May 2015 and its 300 Year 7 and 8 pupils moved into the upper school.

There has been speculation over what would happen to the building in Wentworth Road ever since, with some fearing it might be demolished and used for housing and others that it could become a pupil referral unit.

Yesterday, it emerged the building is to be refurbished, however and youngsters aged up to 16 from Seabrook College pupil referral unit and “difficult” children from elsewhere in the borough, will be moved under one roof.

James Courtenay, councillor responsible for education, said: “The Wentworth site is being refurbished and improved. It will be brought up to standard to cater for our most vulnerable and difficult children. At the moment provision is a bit scattered so we want to be able to have all staff and facilities in one place.

“Seabrook caters for children with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties. It has 44 children aged between 11 and 16.”

Many of the children have been excluded from schools across the borough because of behaviour problems.

Mr Courtenay added: “Our aim is to get these children back into school and provide training for alternative qualifications to GCSEs.”

The news emerged following a Facebook post from construction company Davis Construction announcing it would be carrying out the refurbishment.

The company said it would be “installing a new roof, internal alterations and new finishes” in a 29-week project starting in May.

The announcement did not come as good news for some. A worried resident, who did not want to be named, said: “There have been rumours that this was going to happen for months now. Every time we’ve tried to get information about it we’ve been told that nothing was going on and the future of the building was undecided. Now suddenly we find this out from a Facebook post.

“As residents, we deserve more information than this. I really feel we’ve been kept in the dark. I suspect this must have been going on for months as I believe there are all sorts of covenants on the land around here as it was given to the town by RA Jones. This cannot have just come out of the blue for the council. As for Cecil Jones, who have kept us completely in the dark, they have just destroyed any good will we felt.”