King Edmund School in Rochford opens teaching space at Holiday Inn

Pupils are being transported 24 miles (39km) from their school because of ongoing asbestos removal work.

The King Edmund School in Rochford, Essex, suddenly closed on 15 November.

Year 11 and Year 13 pupils are now being bussed to Gaynes School in Upminster, east London, which a spokeswoman said was the nearest site for "suitable face-to-face provision".

The school said a space for study was also being used at Southend Airport's Holiday Inn for other students.

"The school has been working hard with the Department for Education (DfE) during the Christmas and New Year period to find suitable face-to-face provision for students [who] are taking their final exams this year," said a school spokeswoman, who described the situation as "unprecedented" and "fast moving".

Contractors discovered asbestos while tearing down an old building to make way for a multimillion-pound two-storey block.

The school's 1,570 students have since been taught mostly via online video link.

About 30 pupils, mostly with special educational needs, have been supervised with online learning at the local Freight House and in a letter sent to parents last week, head Jonathan Osborn said capacity there was being increased.

Parents were told all Year 11 and Year 13 pupils would be transported on buses, supervised by staff, from Freight House to and from Gaynes School.

Mr Osborn, in the letter first reported by the Southend Echo, said this was the "nearest school" that could support exam students.

The remainder of the school were expected to continue learning via video link and Mr Osborn said some students could do this in space hired at the Holiday Inn at Southend Airport.

Ross Miller, whose daughter was in Year 11, told BBC Essex he preferred the idea of his daughter continuing online learning rather than making "a bit of a trek" to Upminster.

He said he "absolutely" supported suggestions from Mr Osborn that students' grades should be taken into account by examiners.

"But what we really want is our children to be well educated; we don't necessarily just want the grades to be pushed up."

The DfE, which said the icy weather delayed the asbestos removal last month, has pushed back the reopening date until at least 23 January.

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