More than 150 schools have been ordered to close some of their buildings leaving headteachers desperately looking for alternative accommodation for pupils as the new school year starts.

Education secretary Gillian Keegan said the Department for Education is working with three contractors to ramp up the supply of temporary buildings and accelerate their installation.

Leading portable buildings specialist Algeco told the Enquirer that the current lead time on a single classroom is three weeks while “larger layouts, including double classrooms and whole teaching blocks are on an extended lead time.”

The specialist has been hiring temporary buildings to schools for more than 40 years and confirmed a surge in enquiries during the last few days.