Pupils have been told they will have to spend another six months of their education in temporary classes.

Contractors working on the £10.8million redevelopment of Tideway School in Southdown Road, Newhaven, have admitted it will not be ready by the original target completion date in October.

An exact new target has not been set but the school has told parents it will not be expecting to be fully moved into the new buildings until February 2009.

The delay will mean the 20 temporary classrooms which have been used since the project began in July 2007 will remain in place.

Another six portable buildings will be added in the next few weeks as a new phase of the work gets underway.

Newhaven Town Council leader Judith Ost said: "This is very disappointing news to the children and families of the town. There is a generation of children who have only ever been taught in temporary buildings there and now they will only get a few months in the new school."

Children at Tideway have endured significant disruption to their education since an arson attack in April 2005 damaged a large section of the main buildings.

East Sussex County Council responding to the damage by putting in place the plans for the new school but the resulting construction work has caused further disruption, despite efforts to ensure most of the work is done outside of teaching hours.

The council said the delays had been the result of a combination of unforeseen complications.

A spokesman said there had been issues with the ground conditions and the existing buildings as well as significant storm damage to the work during a period of extreme weather in March.

He added that delays to a delivery of steel to the site had impacted badly on the project.

The whole construction process has been reviewed and work on the site will be sped up.

The council spokesman said: "This is a major and logistically complicated redevelopment project costing over £10m which involves elements of both new build and refurbishment and we have been determined from the outset to minimise the disruption to pupils."

He said the council regretted that the building would not be ready in time for October.

The spokesman said: "We will continue working with the consultants and contractors to ensure that the works are completed as quickly as possible so that pupils and staff can start to use their fantastic new building and get the fresh start they so deserve.”

Despite the disruptions the school has won praise from Ofsted, which commented in its last inspection that Tideway had been performing well in challenging circumstances.

Does your child attend Tideway School? How do you feel about the delays to the construction work?