Construction is now underway on a new 900-place secondary school in Colchester, with the site expected to accept its first pupils next autumn.
Construction has started on a new 900-place secondary school in Colchester.
Local contractor, Barnes Construction has been awarded the £14 million contract to build the new school in Paxman Avenue.
Essex County Council chairman, John Aldridge and councillor Ray Gooding, Cabinet Member for Education, have visited the site to take part in a ground-breaking ceremony to mark this important milestone in the project.
The brand new school incorporates a three-storey building with 20 classrooms, with a library, a suite of science laboratories, technology workshops, and a sports hall.
Outside there will be a new multi-use games area and grass sports pitches.
Built as a steel frame construction with a mixture of brick and rain-screen cladding facades, the new school, which has been designed by Concertus, optimises the use of natural daylight by incorporating features such as curtain wall glazing to the first floor over the entrance to the School.
Chairman of Essex County Council John Aldreidge said: “We are delighted that the construction work for the new secondary school in Colchester has started, and our plans for the project are progressing well. The new school building at Paxman Avenue will provide excellent facilities for young people. We are committed to investing in our schools to ensure that young people throughout the county are able to access a high quality education which will prepare them for their future career.”
Ray Gooding, Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member responsible for Education said: “This is an important milestone for the new secondary school in Colchester. We have spent around £25 million creating 1,700 new school places in the Colchester area since 2013/2014. The new school will create 900 new places to help meet the increasing demand as Colchester continue to grow. We hope the building works will be completed ahead of September 2019.” The programme of 67 weeks is intended to ensure that the new school is completed ready for the new school year in Autumn 2019.
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