A Winchester primary school is to be moved lock, stock and barrel to a temporary site after flooding forced its closure.

education bosses decided at a crisis meeting to build an interim school for the staff and children of St Bede Primary School on a playing field at Bereweeke Road that belongs to Hampshire County Council.

Much of their current site, in Gordon Road, is now under several inches of water and pupils were given an extended Christmas break when teaching became impossible.

Construction of the temporary school buildings will begin immediately and it is hoped that they will be ready to move in early in January.

There will be a separate building for each class and the nursery, a kitchen, an office, a hard surface playground and car parking facilities.

The Hampshire county music service, which is based at St Bede's, will also move to the new site.

Fears had been raised that classes might have to be broken up in the short term with pupils sent to different schools to continue their education.

But now the disrupted school can stay together, which according to headteacher Judy Hamilton is the best outcome.

She said: "We are very pleased with the decision. In difficult circumstances it is the best possible thing that could happen. "I hope the parents of the children will also be happy.

"They have been very understanding and there has been a good community spirit from the parents. The one thing they wanted to see was the school kept together.

"For children who come to the school from further afield there will be issues to look at and we will do that in the New Year."

She added: "We do not yet know when we will get back to our own building, but it has just been devastating for us."

Parents will get the opportunity to find out more about the move at a meeting with school staff and officers from Hampshire County Council.

It will take place in the Varley Hall at Peter Symonds' College, Owens Road, Winchester, on Wednesday December 20 at 7.30pm.