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Pupils 'taught in marquees' at safety-risk school

Lewis Adams
BBC News, Essex
Steve Hubbard/BBC Metal heras fencing in front of a sports hall at the school, which is made of light-coloured bricks and has black lettering above a door that reads: "Sir Frederick Gibberd Sports".Steve Hubbard/BBC
The school closed its main building and sports hall in August 2023 following advice from the Department for Education

School pupils have been taught in "marquees and Portakabins" for more than a year due to safety fears, an MP warned.

Teaching at Sir Frederick Gibberd College in Harlow, Essex, has been repeatedly disrupted since September 2023.

The town's Labour MP Chris Vince said the school was deemed "unsafe", despite its brand new building opening four years ago.

When responding to Vince in the House of Commons, Education Minister Stephen Morgan said he was working to find a "permanent solution".

A survey concluded the school needed to be demolished as it may not be able to withstand an extreme weather event.

Parents have previously been told the school would be rebuilt and made ready for 2027.

Simon Dedman/BBC Chris Vince smiling while standing on a residential street. He has short black hair and stubble. He is wearing a black blazer with a knitted grey jumper and white shirt underneath.Simon Dedman/BBC
Chris Vince was elected as the Labour MP for Harlow in July 2024

Vince accused the Conservative government of wasting £29m on the school, which opened two years after it was built in 2019.

Pupils and teachers were thanked by Morgan for their "resilience" to the ongoing issue.

"We have delivered high-quality temporary modular accommodation that the school will use until its new permanent buildings are ready," the minister added.

"We will continue to work closely with the trust and the local community to find a permanent solution."

Speaking in 2023, Harlow's former Tory MP Robert Halfon apologised for the disruption and said it had been "an incredibly difficult time".

He said: "The government is taking full responsibility for resolving the situation and will fund the rebuild of the school."

Shaun Whitmore/BBC An aerial image captured of the school building and neighbouring sports hall. Both are made of light coloured brick and wood and lie next to a car park that is mostly empty. They are both fenced off. The school building is three-storey with a flat roof, while the sports hall has parts which are taller than others.Shaun Whitmore/BBC
The school opened in 2021 but was closed two years later on safety grounds

The school closed its main building and sports hall in August 2023 following advice from the Department for Education and concerns over its "modular mode of construction".

Pupils were taught in temporary buildings on site as a result, although those in Year 7 were transported by bus to sister school Mark Hall Academy.

Further disruption was caused when a national shortage of temporary classrooms hampered teaching.

Following the delivery of a number of temporary buildings, the school then had power cables worth tens of thousands of pounds stolen from within them.

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