New Ebbsfleet school opening date back on track after coronavirus lockdown forced delay to Ebbsfleet Green Primary School construction
16:00, 14 October 2020
updated: 16:26, 14 October 2020
Construction of a brand new school delayed by Covid-19 lockdown is back under way again.
Building the Ebbsfleet Green Primary School had to be postponed when the coronavirus pandemic forced the site to shut down.
Temporary blocks which had been due to house the school until the permanent building was finished was also pushed back .
So pupils and staff relocated eight miles down the A2 to Bligh Primary School in Strood with youngsters packed onto buses each morning and afternoon .
But work is back on track following the landmark groundbreaking ceremony last month attended by senior teachers, construction managers and the project manager for Kent County Council.
The groundwork has started to prepare the site for when prefabricated structures are hoisted into place in the New Year.
School leaders expect the buildings, landscaping and outside learning spaces to be completed by August 2021 ready for the new school year next September.
The building has been designed to be environmentally friendly, sustainable and classrooms positioned around a large central courtyard.
They will look out towards a landscaped grounds which features a wildlife pond, wild area and vegetable garden which will be planted by pupils once the school officially opens.
The garden is said to feed into the 'Edible Ebbsfleet' design ethos for Ebbsfleet Garden City.
The school, run by the Maritime Academy Trust, is the third to be built in Ebbsfleet.
Once at capacity, it will provide 420 school places and 26 pre-school places. A special education needs (SEN) centre will also be located on the site.
Joanne Wilkinson-Tabi, executive headteacher at Ebbsfleet Green Primary, was at the groundbreaking ceremony with head of school Kelly Garrett.
She said: "Kelly and I were shown the plans of exactly where the school will sit and could imagine what it will be like this time next year.
"It is a vast expanse of land which is unusual for a new school and will provide us with plenty of space to make Ebbsfleet Green Primary a first-class Garden City school.
"It is also great to see the housing development continue to grow around us.
"We are very much looking forward to our launch party in January 2021 when the school building will be in position. It is all beginning to feel very real."
