Year seven pupils at a Middlesbrough school may start their education in a football stadium as delays bring further disruption for the September intake.

The new starters at Outwood Riverside Academy were due to travel to a temporary site in Eston for the start of the Autumn term. Older pupils are already being taught in temporary premises at Russell Street as the school still awaits its new site at Middlehaven.

However, parents have now been told the Eston site will not be ready by September. Instead, the year seven pupils will be taught in temporary classrooms at the Riverside Stadium.

Melissa Brant-Smith, principal at Outwood Academy Riverside said: “We are pleased to confirm that a site has been secured for our incoming Year 7 students, for September 2024. The temporary site is on Burns Road, Eston.

“For a short time at the beginning of the new term, while the site at Eston is being finalised, students will temporarily attend classes at Riverside Stadium, home of Middlesbrough Football Club. We have already shared this exciting news with children and their families.

“During this period, our students will still experience the full curriculum and they will have access to Middlesbrough College’s cutting-edge sports facilities. Arrangements for transportation between Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough College, and our Russell Street location will be shared with families ahead of September.”

However, a spokesman for Middlesbrough Football Club confirmed the arrangement has not been signed off or finalised. A new school building for 900 pupils at Lower East Street in Middlehaven was first agreed by Middlesbrough Council in 2018.

A spokesperson for Outwood Grange Academies Trust said “suitable spaces” would be used until the Eston site is complete. A new school building for 900 pupils at Lower East Street in Middlehaven was first agreed by Middlesbrough Council in 2018.

Issues with a building contractor and the pandemic meant the site missed its original 2023 opening and the completion date was pushed back to 2026. Outwood Riverside opened in initial accommodation at Queens Square before moving to Russell Street.

In January, parents were told the temporary space could not accommodate additional pupils starting in September and would instead be taught at the site of the former Eston Park Academy on Burns Road. The delays in starting building work on the permanent school site have been described as “absolutely ridiculous”.

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MP for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East Andy McDonald previously questioned whether it would be built quicker than “some of civilisation’s greatest constructions”. On current form, he said it could take longer than the Colosseum in Rome, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro and the Parthenon in Athens.

In March, a DfE spokesperson said they were working with Middlesbrough Council and Outwood Grange Academies Trust to “urgently progress” its delivery.