It is encouraging that Project Athens – the name given to Oxfordshire County Council’s response to the demise of Carillion – has entered its recovery phase.

The collapse of the outsourcing provider has caused untold disruption and frustration within schools across the county, but at long last it seems there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Contractors are in place and work will resume shortly on the four capital school projects left to be completed – Matthew Arnold School and primary schools in Marcham, Sutton Courtenay and Chilton.

For Sutton Courtenay Primary School the circumstances have been particularly frustrating.

The overcrowded school was expecting two new classrooms to be built in time for September 2017 – but had to resort to temporary classrooms from August after Carillion failed to deliver the project.

When the firm went into liquidation the building was an agonising 80 per cent complete.

With no movement since January, the children have had to have staggered break times, with half the pupils waiting in the hall at lunchtimes.

Thankfully workmen returned to the site earlier this month and the original building should be completed by the end of August. But Years 1-6 will be starting term four days late, meaning that another school year will start in chaotic fashion for the village school.

Marcham Primary School expressed concerns at having to split up a year group into two different forms as it won’t have the space it needs from the delayed project.

These issues of splitting up friends and potentially causing anxiety are another side-effect of the Carillion collapse and certainly one that hasn’t been afforded enough attention.

Behind the statements, figures, and businessmen there are problems on the ground at schools across the county affecting young people and their education and the environment within which they are supposed to learn.

Matthew Arnold as a secondary school should be less hampered by its new temporary classrooms but having the ‘shell’ of the building lingering on site for months on end is far from ideal.

Chilton Primary School, like many other primary schools, has had to expand due to increased population in the area – specifically in its case due to housing developments.

After being given assurances over the expansion – with planning approval – it increased intake from 30 to 45 pupils each year.

But the Carillion collapse has left the school with more children than ever before and less space.

Hopefully it too will get moving this summer and the county’s children can get on with their education.