A "DANGEROUS" school could be saved from permanent closure after it secured funding to be rebuilt, an MP has said.

The Mistley Norman Primary School and Nursery site, in Remercie Road, Mistley, has been closed since earlier this year after reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) was discovered in its buildings.

Raac made national headlines last week after Education Secretary Gillian Keegan told more than 100 schools to close buildings where the material, which is prone to collapse, has been used.

The school's 68 pupils spent the rest of the last school year being taken by bus to another school three miles away, but with no funding to repair or replace the existing buildings, children are now facing a 20-mile round trip to Two Village Primary School in Ramsey.

But Harwich and North Essex MP Sir Bernard Jenkin has now suggested the school has secured funding which will enable it to be rebuilt.

Harwich and Manningtree Standard: MP - Sir Bernard JenkinMP - Sir Bernard Jenkin (Image: Chris McAndrew/UK Parliament)

He told the Standard he’s been “privately assured money will be there for a rebuild”, though it’s unlikely to be constructed this year.

Sir Bernard also defended the Government after it faced criticism for axing Labour's "undeliverable" Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, which would've funded building projects at three secondary schools in nearby Colchester which are seriously affected by the Raac crisis.

He said: "The BSF programme didn't include any primary schools, so it wouldn't have helped schools like Mistley Norman.

“The Government acted as soon as it realised the distinction surveyors were making between critical and low risk.

“A ceiling collapsed in August after being deemed low risk. It’s impossible to assess the risk of Raac.

“The crisis has been handled very competently by Essex County Council and Labour has not criticised the Secretary of State for taking the decisions she took [to close schools] last week.”

Asked how long it will take for the worst affected schools to return to face-to-face learning, Essex County Council’s education boss Tony Ball told the BBC he didn’t foresee a quick resolution.

He said: “I think it’s fair to say hundreds [of schoolchildren] will be impacted. It will mean different things for different schools but there’s no doubt that the impact could be for some months.”