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Search forDUNMOW: Waiting game for new school
Thursday, September 11, 2008, 08:00
Parents have been campaigning for extra school facilities in the Oakwood Park area of Little Dunmow for years, and hoped pupils would begin the autumn term in the new Flitch Green Primary School.
But because construction vehicles are still on the site of the Little Dunmow school, pupils are meeting nearby to catch coaches to Great Saling Millennium Hall for lessons.
Builders say they hope to complete the work and allow pupils into the classrooms in the next two weeks.
A county council official said: "The programme for the building work at Flitch Green Primary School has slipped slightly due to delays to the construction of the roof.
"Contractors Essex County Council and architects have worked tirelessly to ensure that those delays have been kept to an absolute minimum and we look forward to welcoming pupils into their new state-of-the-art school in the very near future."
Helen Johnson, head of the new school, said: "The area is still a building site but, by the 15th, it will be handed over to us. There will still be construction going on, but it will be partitioned off from the school.
"We had a meeting for parents to say what we were going to do and we have been able to plan it. They have been very supportive."
Mrs Johnson said that the eco-friendly school was due to be ready for pupils during the week beginning September 22. Meanwhile, "whole school" projects including one on the Olympics had been organised for the pupils.
The school, which has been built for 210 pupils, will initially have 55 pupils, five full-time and one part-time teacher as well as support staff.
It has been built to serve the Oakwood Park development of more than 500 homes and the surrounding area.
The school includes a rain-harvesting system to provide water to flush toilets, solar shading panels, underfloor heating and a biomass boiler to provide efficient heating.
Parents have already formed a 'friends' group and organised a Guy Fawkes Parade.
Little Dunmow parish clerk Angela Balcombe said: "Because of the lack of community facilities the school is the focus so everyone is looking forward to it and hope it will bring the community together."
Julie Shepherd, whose seven-year-old son Nathan is among the new pupils after moving from a school at Felsted, said: "I've been chatting with mothers at the bus stop and they are all happy with the situation. The children are learning and it's all a big adventure."
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