Building work on Ely’s newest primary school will not be completed in time for the start of the new school year.

The Isle of Ely Primary School’s new facility had been due to welcome pupils for the first time in September but delays with the building work mean it won’t be ready to open until January 2016.

Cambridgeshire County Council said that, in the meantime, agreement had been reached for pupils to remain at the school’s current temporary site, in the grounds of St Mary’s Junior School, until Christmas.

St Mary’s will also provide additional classrooms so the Isle of Ely Primary School can accommodate reception children starting in September.

In total, up to 120 Isle of Ely children will be sharing facilities with St Mary’s until the new school, in Cam Drive, is complete.

A spokesman for the county council said: “Remaining at the Ely St Mary’s site for another term has several benefits. It means staff and children of the Isle of Ely Primary School will not have to move to a different temporary location for just a single term, and also that the county council will not have to invest in the preparation of a new site to provide temporary mobile classrooms.”

The spokesman added that the county council has agreed to make minor improvements at St Mary’s Junior School for the future of the school and the children who attend it.

Gary Peile, deputy chief executive of the Active Learning Trust, which will operate the new school, added: “The trust is pleased this solution has been found and is grateful both to the county council and the governors and staff of St Mary’s for their continued support for the Isle of Ely Primary.

“We very much hope this partnership will continue for the benefit of the pupils from both schools.”