Staff, school governors, and county education officials, have provisionally agreed to work towards setting up a St Felix Village on the playing field behind the school.

Orders are being placed for eight double mobile classrooms, toilet blocks, a kitchen unit and a large unit to hold up to 100 people.

Governors and staff of St Felix have stressed the need to keep the school’s pupils who are aged between nine and 13 together and get them moved into the temporary accommodation on the Fordham Road site as soon as possible.

But Ian Brown, the county’s head of school’s infrastructure, said it was likely to be “more than a couple of weeks” before the site was ready.

“It is only when you start talking about these things that you realise just how much detail is involved like water, electricity, telephones, computers and alarms.

“What I would like to say is how grateful we are for all the offers of support we have had from local schools, the church and other organisations. It is very heartening for both the school and the county council.”

Contingency plans to cater for the youngsters from the start of the new term beginning next month are still being finalised by county officials, school staff and governors as well as teachers from the other Newmarket schools, which it is anticipated will be used by St Felix pupils until they move back to their school site.

It is likely that the alternative arrangements will be that Year 5 pupils will remain at their respective primary schools, Year 6 pupils will be accommodated at Houldsworth Valley Primary School and the seven classes of Year 7 and 8 pupils will be at Newmarket College starting on Monday, September 8.

A further meeting about St Felix plans was held in Bury St Edmunds yesterday and another is scheduled for Wednesday, August 20.

A spokesman for Suffolk County Council said: “We are still looking at a number of options before we finalise exactly what is going to happen and it is an ongoing process but we have written to parents, staff and governors this week and will continue to keep them informed.”