Children at Islington’s £10million first free school will spend next term in a college after being forced out of their portacabins before the new building is ready.

Pupils at Whitehall Park School in Hornsey Rise, Archway, will return from their summer break to Mount Carmel Catholic College for Girls, half a mile away in Duncombe Road.

Bosses had been searching for a solution after the move into the government-funded new build suffered yet another setback over planning issues, meaning it will not be ready until December.

Meanwhile, the adjacent site holding the portacabins is needed by Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association in October for a separate development.

The children have been in temporary huts since the school opened in 2014 and concerned parents will be reassured by the news, which was announced yesterday by the Bellevue Place Education Trust, which runs the school.

Mount Carmel headteacher Nicole Haynes said: “Our governors have welcomed the opportunity to support Whitehall Park School for this short period until their new building is ready and our girls are excited about sharing the school with the delightful primary pupils”.

The move has been supported by Islington Council. Mark Taylor, director of learning and schools said: “Faced with a very difficult situation for many Islington children and their families, we are pleased to have facilitated this temporary move, which is in the best interests the school community as a whole.”