Hundreds of children could be displaced from their primary school after its Sidcup site was approved for disposal.

Benedict House Prep School, a private school in Sidcup, could be forced to close if the site is sold, and parents say they are concerned about the effect this will have on their children.

The school's premises are owned by Bexley Council who lease the site out to the school, and in January 2020 the property was approved for disposal.

One parent at the school described it as "putting the school on the open market" and said she "can't quite believe they (Bexley Council) are doing this."

Bexley Council said that the site was owned by the council and therefore there is no wrongdoing. They added that the school was more than welcome to bid for the site.

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The school themselves said there was still two more years left on the current lease and intent to make an offer, but that they were left "surprised" when the Council chose to place the site on the open market.

Parents said that both teachers and parents have been left in "limbo" by the news, and that it could "result in the displacement of hundreds of children who love and adore the school."

The parent claims that Bexley Council has refused to extend the lease of the school's site and turned down a number of offers by the school to purchase the site, meaning the school may have to close.

This would result in hundreds of children being displaced from a school they love, parents having to decide on the future of their children and teachers potentially losing their jobs or having to relocate to another site.

"The council's greed will result in so much upset and difficulty to these children, we can't quite believe it.

"They have already had to endure such as a result of the pandemic. We don't want to lose our school and to have our children go through more uncertainty and stress."

Bexley Council said: "This is a private fee paying school that lease their premises from the Council. The school is not run by the local authority.

"The property was approved for disposal in January 2020. Benedict House School were aware of plans to dispose of the site and were given the opportunity to purchase the premises. They still have an opportunity to submit a bid.

"Families who are concerned about securing a local school place can find out more about our schools and academies on our website and can contact our Admissions Team should they need help or more information."

A spokesperson for the school said: “Benedict House has been leasing our premises from Bexley Council for 30 years. We still have two more years to run on our current lease.

"In 2020 we were informed of the Council’s plans to dispose of the site. We were invited to, and therefore made a number of offers, all of which were market appropriate for the school buildings, based on professional valuations, which were all rejected.

"To our surprise earlier this year the Council chose to place the site on the open market. We will be submitting a new bid for the site and the Council are aware of our interest”.

Parent Pege Khorsan has also started a petition to fight the possible loss of the school, directed at local MP James Brokenshire, and has so far achieved over 600 signatures.

She declared: "We understand that business is business but sometimes a bit of humanity should also be factored in. Please help us SAVE OUR SCHOOL."