Builders set to be appointed ‘imminently’ for new all-through Helena Romanes School in Great Dunmow
Work on a new all-through Helena Romanes School is expected to start soon, with the headteacher “awaiting imminent announcement” of the construction company that will take on the £9.9m project.
The Great Dunmow school is moving from its current site in Parsonage Downs to a new home off Stortford Road. It has been using temporary buildings for lessons.
Construction of the primary school part is expected to start this month, with plans to have it ready for the start of the academic year in September 2025. The secondary school element is planned to take its first students in October 2026.
Local education authority Essex County Council (ECC) agreed to spend £9.9m on the new school, £6.5m of which was from developers’ contributions. A further £3.6m in contributions is expected to follow.
The council had initially proposed for a new school in Dunmow to be ready by September 2021 as part of plans to provide extra primary places for the rapidly growing town. However, planning permission for the new all-through school was not granted by ECC until April that year.
The permission allows the relocation and reprovision of Helena Romanes from its existing site, where planning consent has been granted for housing development.
Catherine Davis, executive headteacher, said: “The delivery and timing of the project and release of information pertaining to it remains totally under the purview of the Department for Education (DfE).
“However, we can confirm that we are working with the DfE and Essex County Council in this endeavour and that the DfE, more specifically the Schools Rebuilding Program, is managing this project.
“We can also confirm that land for the new school has been purchased and that the trust has been instructed to sell the land on the existing site and hand all proceeds over to the Secretary of State for Education.
“It is our understanding that the primary school will be built first, followed by the secondary school, and we are awaiting the imminent announcement of who the building contractor will be.”
