"The bidding just kept going on and on....."

That was the reaction of auctioneers after a former primary school site smashed its reserve and sold for well over the price it was expected to fetch at auction.

Marketed by Auction House East Anglia, the former Fen Park Primary School on Lovewell Road, Kirkley in Lowestoft had served generations of pupils for almost 90 years right up until its closure a decade ago.

The former primary school site - which has remained empty since it closed in 2013 - went under the hammer at an online property auction on Wednesday, March 22.

And going "way beyond reserve", according to auctioneers, it was one of "some really amazing headline figures" that were achieved in the commercial sector.

With the former school site being sold with a guide price of £190,000 plus fees, on a freehold tenure, the auctioneers description for the "house (unspecified)" said: "Substantial detached former school set in over half an acre offering a range of potential uses.

"The school was built in 1925 and closed in 2013, and will be sold with vacant possession."

With the building extending to around 1,094sq m and the playground to around 1,046sq m, the auctioneers said that "air raid shelters are located underneath the playground."

It added: "This provides an opportunity for an investor to undertake their own investigations in the development potential and progress a potentially exciting project."

After selling for £346,000, an 82.1 per cent increase on what it was expected to fetch, auctioneers - in an auction review on its Facebook page - said: "Some really amazing headline figures have been achieved particularly in the commercial sector. 

"We had one or two properties which made way beyond reserve.

"We have not sold a school for a while, but Fen Park Primary School in Lowestoft - off a guide of £190,000, made £346,000.

"The bidding just kept going on and on."