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Pupil plan revealed for Harlow school that needs rebuild

Shaun Whitmore/BBC Sir Frederick Gibberd College in HarlowShaun Whitmore/BBC
Sir Frederick Gibberd College in Harlow has already been open to students for two years

Parents and pupils at a secondary school which will need to be rebuilt have been contacted about the schooling plan for the new academic year.

Sir Frederick Gibberd College in Harlow announced on Monday it would not open for the new term in two weeks' time.

Years 8 to 11 will start school on 11 September in temporary on-site buildings. Year 7 students will attend Mark Hall Academy from 6 September.

Local Tory MP Robert Halfon will hold a surgery for parents on Thursday.

Shaun Whitmore/BBC Sir Frederick Gibberd College in HarlowShaun Whitmore/BBC
The school is one of three sites in the UK built by the same contractor and affected by the same structural issues

A free bus service will also take the Year 7 students from Frederick Gibberd to Mark Hall Academy.

GCSE pupils will be taken by coach to other Harlow schools for specialist science and design technology subjects.

The current plan is for all Frederick Gibberd students to be taught in temporary buildings on the site by mid-November.

Mr Halfon, who is also an education minister, said: "I know this is a deeply worrying time for parents and for the school community.

"Like myself, I know everyone is responding at pace to prioritise the return of school pupils."

The school site opened in 2021 and its building contractor is no longer operating.

Conservative education minister Nick Gibb said a survey revealed issues with its "modular mode of construction".

Frederick Gibbert is one of three schools in England ordered to close because of structural safety concerns by the Department for Education (DfE).

In a statement issued on Wednesday regarding a second school in the same position - Buckton Fields Primary in Northampton - the Department for Education (DfE) said: "Nothing is more important than the health and safety of pupils and teachers, which is why we assess school buildings regularly to make sure they meet our high standards."

The building contractor, Caledonian Modular, went into administration in March 2022.

A second construction company bought Caledonian out of administration a month later, and the BBC has contacted the new firm for comment.

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