The opening of a new school in Tonbridge has been deferred.

Bishop Chavasse Primary Free School was due to open in September providing 420 places.

But an announcement today revealed the Church of England school, which was named after 1908 Olympic athlete Christopher Chavasse who went on to become Bishop of Rochester, will not open until September 2017.

The school, sponsored by the Bennett Memorial Diocesan School, will have two forms of entry with sixty places in each year group and serve mainly south Tonbridge.

Early plans revealed although it would share some resources and specialist expertise with Bennett, it will be run as a separate school with its own headteacher.

At the time of the last update in November, both the Department for Education and the Tenax Schools Trust believed the acquisition of a site for the school to open this year was close.

However, although progress has been made on the site purchase staff say they have not yet been able to finalise it.

Executive Headteacher of Bennett, Ian Buckham, said: "Because of the long period of time this process has taken, and particularly because of where we are now in the primary school admissions cycle, the Department for Education and the Trust have agreed to defer the opening of the new school to September 2017.

"Although we realise this will be disappointing for many of the school’s supporters, and we are all too aware how much this new school is needed in Tonbridge, we believe today’s decision will be for the best in the long term.

"It gives certainty to parents seeking primary school places for 2016, and it will mean the new school will aim to open on its permanent site and in its brand new building, rather than opening on a temporary site in its first year.”

Tom Tugendhat, MP for Tonbridge and Malling, said: “I am very disappointed by the delay to the Bishop Chavasse Primary Free School opening. Ian Bauckham has been tireless in his efforts to complete the initial phase of this important project and those of us who have been working hard to support him are deeply frustrated that we are unable to open this year.

“I am very disappointed by the delay to the Bishop Chavasse Primary Free School opening" - Tom Tugendhat

"The school will fill an important need in Tonbridge and is now closer to opening than it has ever been. It is important for the future prosperity of the school that it is able to operate on one site, rather than spending a year in a temporary location beforehand.

"In the meantime, I will be writing to education secretary Nicky Morgan to ensure all remaining negotiations are completed quickly, so construction can begin as soon as possible ahead of the opening in September 2017.

"This is a project I have been pushing for at every level of the Department for Education and I will continue to do my utmost to see it completed as soon as possible. I would like to thank all at Bennett Memorial Diocesan School for their hard work to date.”