Students from one of east London’s fastest growing schools tried out 11 new science classrooms last week.
The newly built science laboratories were among 18 classrooms handed over to the Greatfields School this term by Mid-Group working with Be First, the Council’s regeneration company on behalf of the Council on the £55.8million school build, which is funded by the Education Skills and Funding Agency.
Headteacher Richard Paul, Andrew Shepherd of Mid-Group, James Hodgson of Barking and Dagenham Council Schools Project Sponsor and Richard Rollison of Be First hosted a tour of the exciting new facilities for Councillor Evelyn Carpenter, Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement, and to see how the pupils were enjoying their new scientific surroundings.
Richard Paul, Headteacher said: “We are delighted to have moved into the second phase of our permanent building. Our students now have access to state of the art science labs which means they will be able to carry out a wide range of experiments which they were not previously able to. It is also great timing just as our Year 10 students are embarking upon their GCSE course.”
Cllr Evelyn Carpenter, Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement, said: “Greatfields has got fantastic teachers, great new facilities and enthusiastic pupils. So, it’s not rocket science to see why Greatfields is great! We are proud to say nine out of 10 of our borough’s schools are rated good to excellent.”
Richard Rollison, Senior Construction Manager at Be First, said: “Greatfields is one of the fastest growing schools in east London, at the heart of one of the capital’s biggest regeneration projects – the renewal of the Gascoigne Estate.
“So, we’re delighted to be able to provide these state of the art new facilities, which we hope will provide a springboard for future generations of science and technology enthusiasts.”
Andrew Shepherd, of Mid-Group, which is part of the LEP (Thames Partnership for Learning) and builder of the school said: “As a Barking based contractor, we are delighted to be involved in the delivery of this major regeneration project on our doorstep. The school has been delivered to the highest environmental standards and is so efficient it will return energy to the grid at certain points in the year.”
The 18 new classrooms were part of a £55.8million expansion which, once completed, will include a primary school, and an all-through education campus for a total of 2,400 primary, secondary and sixth form students.
