A FLOODED Winchester school that has been forced to move to a temporary site is likely to remain closed for at least two terms.

Education chiefs fear it will take months to repair and refurbish St Bede Primary School, at Gordon Road, which has been severely damaged by several inches of floodwater.

Hampshire County Council is planning to call in consultants to assess the damage to the building, which is still prone to further flooding.

But the council stressed that there were no plans to demolish the school, which is not believed to have suffered any serious structural damage.

"We won't really know the extent of the damage until we have had a chance to dry the building out," said a council spokesman.

"The school is likely to remain flooded, or could be flooded again, until March and it will need quite an extensive drying-out period.

Work has already started on establishing temporary buildings for St Bede on a playing field at Bereweeke Road.

But it will take weeks to set up eleven makeshift units, including classrooms, so children have been given an extended Christmas holiday until January 22.

"We have held a public meeting with parents and we will keep them informed of what is happening," added the spokesman.