Children in Bury St Edmunds could be left having to split their lessons between two schools as a result of the decision to close middle schools, it has emerged.
The switch to two-tier education in the town is scheduled for 2012 – but a stakeholders meeting heard it would be another three years after that, before any funding for new schools is made available.
That would leave pupils at upper schools having some of their lessons at a satellite based in existing middle schools until the new buildings were completed.
County councillor Mark Ereira-Guyer said: "We could be in this transitional period for 10 years."
But fellow councillor Craig Dearden-Phillips said council officers told him that the worst case scenario would see this arrangement made permanent.
The two councillors, together with Cllr Trevor Beckwith, are questioning whether the Government money required across the county for the £700 million schools rebuild, will ever be made available.
They have called for the change over to be put on hold until after the next General Election, when the picture would become clearer.
Natalie Sinnadurai, a parent governor at Westley Middle, in Bury, was at last Wednesday's stakeholder meeting.
"My daughter will be in Year 6 when all this happens. I have never been in favour of middle schools – however they have got to do this right otherwise my daughter's education is going to suffer.
"It's a no brainer. We have the buildings first and then we move the children into them. I just can't understand why they can't see that."
She moved from London to Bury seven years ago so her children could have a better education, but has now considered moving to East Suffolk to escape the effects of the schools shake-up.
"It seems they have this timetable and they don't want to lose face – and that is not what is best for the children," she said.
Cllr Dearden-Phillips said there was a risk that middle class families could choose to send their children to private schools instead.
"If that happens on any scale, it will be disastrous for Bury," he said.
Cllr Beckwith has asked why the schools are not being built first.
"They are saying they are so worried about the Suffolk being below the national average for attainment that there is no time to waste," he said.
"I really can't see the logic."
Ian Brown, council head of schools infrastructure, said: "Options will be developed with individual schools and its pupils in mind and will be published for public consultation in the autumn, with decisions being taken next year."
Geoff Barton, headteacher of King Edward VI Upper School, was not at the meeting but said: "While it is not ideal, it's also something many other schools in the UK have as the norm, so I welcome it as an inevitable step in implementing the two-tier system."
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