THE grounds of a Colchester secondary school could be sold to pay for improvements to other schools, a meeting heard.

Alderman Blaxill School, in Shrub End is set to close in 2014 under the latest proposals set out by Essex County Council to transform secondary education in Colchester.

Previous plans to close Alderman Blaxill and Thomas Lord Audley schools and expand others were scrapped when it became clear £130million of Government funding was not available.

Campaigners say the rising number of youngsters in south Colchester means the Alderman Blaxill site will have to reopen to accommodate them – possibly as soon as 2015.

Stephen Castle, county councillor responsible for education, told a meeting at the Moot Hall that with little Government funding for school upgrades likely in the next few years, Alderman Blaxill may have to be sold to fund improvements elsewhere.

He said: “No decision has been taken about the future of the site, but I think we have to be conscious of the fact that at the moment we are unaware of the investment for schools in the future.

“I’m minded that in many ways previous investments in education have been funded by essentially selling off school sites.

“I’m in no sense saying that’s what the plan is – there is no plan at the moment – but that’s something we will have to consider.

“What I don’t want to find is we have large numbers of children in Colchester in schools that are not fit for purpose, as they have not been invested in.”

Jeff Davison, a Philip Morant governor speaking as a Colchester resident, said: “It seems to me a misuse of money to build a new school in Colchester when the existing schools are already here and can meet all the needs of secondary children for the next 20 years.

“It seems ridiculous to me to misuse funds in that way.”

Parents, teachers and residents are being asked to comment on plans to close Alderman Blaxill and reduce the number of pupils studying at TLA from September 2012.

County Hall bosses predict that by about 2017, the rising number of secondary aged children in Colchester will mean a new school will have to be built or others expanded.

Early suggestions put forward include relocating St Helena School to the north of Colchester, or building a campus there, to be run by St Helena or Gilberd schools.