Demolition work begins to expand Forest Gate school

Plans show what the finished school in Grosvenor Road will look like. Demolition work has already commenced (Image: Archant)

The school, which was granted Academy status in 2011, currently exists on two sites, one in Upton Lane and another in Grosvenor Road, Forest Gate.

The building in Grosvenor Road, the Art and Technology Centre, called ATC, is being demolished and will be rebuilt. It is due to be completed in the summer of 2014.

Once it is open, staff and the 900 students will move to the new site while the building in Upton Lane is demolished and re-built in time to take in students in September 2015.

At that point staff and students will be spread between the two sites and the school will begin taking an extar 60 students every year.

The building project has been funded through the Government’s Priority School Building Programme.

Andrew Seager, head teacher, said: “We were delighted to be included in the Priority Schools Building Programme because our buildings are at the end of their lives.

“As a popular school the Department for Education were keen to see us expand and also for us to provide some specialist facilities for children with Autism. The solution we came up with was to build two schools, one on each site each for 750 pupils.

“Behind the scenes we will still be a single school, with one leadership team and one board of Governors, but on a day-to-day basis we will operate as separate schools with a shared Year 10 and 11 curriculum.”