Complications have delayed by a term the start of construction of Taieri College's new $3.9million state-of-the-art administration block.
Demolition of the school's 76-year-old administration block was expected to take place during the July school holidays, but the necessary relocation of an electrical transformer has meant demolition will not be able to start until the end of September.
Principal David Hunter said as a result of the relocation, much of the school would need new trenches and cables, which was a two-week job.
The electrical supply to the school would be cut during the work, so the school would need to be closed for about two weeks, he said.
''It's quite a big job, and obviously the school can't be open when they do that.
''So it's going to have to be done during the July school holidays.
''The positive side of that is accompanying the new cable will be new fibre which will further assist our internet speed and capacity.
''There is a bit of silver lining to the cloud.''
It was too early to know how much extra it would cost, Mr Hunter said.
He believed the work would delay the completion of the project by about three months, and it was now expected to be finished by the end of next year.
The school is to house its administration operations in the school hall for up to a year, along with the school's library, staffroom and principal's offices, while a new multimillion-dollar administration building is constructed.
In the meantime, school assemblies would be held in the gymnasium and indoor training centre.
Staff were working on creative ways to incorporate the pupils from the classrooms being demolished into existing rooms around the school.
The school was granted Ministry of Education funding last year to build the 1532sq m block, which will comprise the school's reception area, staff-room, administration offices, library and information centre, as well as eight classrooms.
Charles Thomas Architects, of Christchurch, had been selected to design the new building.
Mr Hunter said construction would start as soon as the existing building was demolished.
The development posed many challenges, but the attitude of staff was making the necessary changes workable, he said.
