A NEW £3 million building has opened at a Rayleigh secondary school has been jailed as an “impressive asset” by an MP whose mother used to work at the school.

Fitzwimarc academy in Hockley Road opened the new building as pupils returned from the recent half term.

The school, which is home to more than 1,500 pupils, now boasts a dozen new classrooms and a new lunch hall, thanks to the £3m building.

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Rayleigh and Wickford MP Mark Francois, whose mother worked a school cook at Fitzwimarc when he was a kid, was shown around the new block by headteacher Mr Robert Harris, during a visit on Friday.

“I am grateful to Mr Harris for finding the time to show me around the impressive new teaching block at Fitzwimarc, which is an important new educational asset for the school,” Mr Francois said.

The Conservative MP was taken on a tour of the new block as well as the kitchens, where he met a number of the kitchen staff preparing for a busy Friday lunchtime.

Mr Francois added: “As my mother, Anna, used to work as a school cook when I was growing up, it was also nice to visit the new kitchens and speak to the staff working there.”

“Fitz is a good school and I wish them all the best with their new facilities, which are clearly being put to very good use.” 

The new block was paid for by a grant, totalling approximately £3 million, from the Department for Education (DfE) and is located next to Fitzwimarc’s sixth form centre - which Mark Francois was the guest of honour at the opening ceremony in 2016.

Councillor James Gooding welcomed the addition as "great news" for pupils.

“Anything that helps with school facilities is absolutely brilliant and these new facilities will go a long way in helping young people achieve great results,” he said.

“It’s vital we invest in our young people and ensure they get the best education possible.”

Fitzwimarc, which was lasted rated “requires improvement” overall by Ofsted in 2019 was converted to an academy in 2015 and opened a sixth from a year later.

At its last inspection in 2012, its predecessor school was judged to be “outstanding”.