Work is underway on a new state of the art school in the heart of one of east London’s largest regeneration schemes.
The latest phase of Greatfields School, in Barking’s Gascoigne Estate, will provide 18 new classrooms and specialist teaching areas, including science, design technology and music, for 540 new pupils.
The works will mean Year 10 pupils will join Years 7, 8 and 9 in 2019. And further building, including a new primary school, will complete the development in 2020, providing an all-through education campus for a total of 2,400 primary, secondary and sixth form students.
Headteacher, Richard Paul, joined Barking and Dagenham Councillor, Evelyn Carpenter, Jennie Coombs of Be First, and Andrew Shepherd CEO of Mid-Group, to see the start of the new works.
Richard Paul said: “We are extremely excited that work has commenced on the second phase. As the school grows rapidly, the new phase will give us much needed space and access to high quality science, design and music classrooms.
“These fantastic facilities will benefit our students throughout the school and especially those about to embark upon their GCSE courses. We are very grateful to the council, Mid-Group, Be First and Partnership Learning for helping to provide us with such a superb building.”
Cllr Evelyn Carpenter, Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement said: “Greatfields School is already a super school, delivering excellent education for local children.
“By the time it is finished Greatfields will be one of the stand out schools in east London, where pupils can spend the whole of their school lives growing and learning together from ages 5 to 18.”
Jennie Coombs, Head of Affordable Housing at Be First, which is co-ordinating the works said: “We are delighted to be helping to deliver this school for the community as part of one of our flagship regeneration projects.
“Building Greatfields school at the heart of the new Gascoigne estate is a great example of what Be First was set up to do – to deliver inclusive regeneration to benefit the people of Barking and Dagenham.”
Roger Leighton, Chief Executive of Partnership Learning, the Trust which oversees the school, said: “Greatfields is the second secondary school we have set up in Barking and Dagenham. The first – Riverside School – was the highest performer in the borough last year, and we expect Greatfields to be just as successful.”
Andrew Shepherd, CEO of Mid Group said: “As a Barking based business, we are delighted to be working once again with local partners to create an exceptional new learning environment for students at Greatfields School.
“By using the latest offsite technology, we will be both minimising disruption to the school and local residents, and also delivering an environmentally friendly building.”
