YOUNGSTERS at a school earmarked for closure will spend their last years of study on a building site, it has been revealed.

Furtherwick Park School is to close in 2011 to make way for a revamped Castle View School, as part of a £35million shake-up of secondary education on Canvey.

Essex County Council, which is overseeing the reorganisation, has admitted building work will start on the Furtherwick Park site from spring 2009 onwards.

The school will take no new pupils from 2008, meaning only Year 11 students will remain in the defunct old building by 2011.

One mother, who did not wish to be named, has a son who will be among the last pupils to leave Furtherwick Park.

She said: "My son will be one of the 79 Year 11 pupils there when the school finally closes.

"The disruption during the building work was one of the questions which came up during the consultation process, but it wasn't adequately answered. They just kept saying they didn't have the information in front of them.

"I have huge fears as a parent of the impact on him. He will be studying for his GCSEs surrounded by building materials and with building work going on around him."

Castle View School will gradually increase its intake until it moves into its new home, but the school has recently applied to Castle Point Council for planning permission for more classrooms.

This has prompted speculation parents are opting to move their children from Furtherwick Park sooner, rather than leave them in a steadily emptying school.

The Canvey mum said the looming upheaval had already begun to have an impact on children at Furtherwick.

She added: "A lot of my son's friends already go to Castle View and there is an attitude of you picked the wrong school'. It is a shame because he is doing so well at Furtherwick.

"The fact they want more classrooms at Castle View makes you wonder, but they will need a lot more facilities to cope with those who will automatically transfer in 2011, let alone others who may do so in the meantime."

Emily Banfield, a spokeswoman for Essex County Council, said: "Work to build the new school, on the Furtherwick Park site, will begin while pupils are in attendance.

"The development of the new buildings will take place on another part of the site, while pupils continue to use existing classrooms.

"Disruption to the youngsters will be minimal and classes will continue as normal while the new development takes place."