main content Bishop Justus opening date announced

Students at the Bishop Justus Church of England School will have to wait slightly longer than anticipated to get into their new, state-of-the-art building.

Bromley’s newest secondary school, which opened last September in a temporary block on the site, will begin its autumn term on 19 September, two weeks later than originally planned.

This slight delay will enable staff - who do not get any extra holiday - to prepare classrooms and teaching areas for the start of the term and make the most of their new hi-tech facilities.

As a result of minor adjustments to the site boundary, the school will also gain a wooded area of ecological interest not originally included, which will be an additional benefit to students.

Kathy Griffiths, the school’s founding headteacher, said: "I’m really looking forward to getting into our superb new building. It will mark the next stage of our exciting development as a brand new school, and give us a real opportunity to be innovative in the way we teach our students."

"The governors and I have every confidence that the move into our new building will go smoothly, and the school will make good use of its superb facilities next term."

Huge progress has already been made but, because of a slight delay to the phased construction plan, all parties have now agreed to delay the start of the autumn term after considering options to minimise disruption to the students' education.

Gillian Pearson, the Council’s Assistant Director of Education and Libraries, said: "The new school has been achieved through a successful partnership between the Council, the Diocese of Rochester, the Department for Education and Skills, and the governors and staff."

"Bishop Justus will make a major contribution to the future of education in the borough. Of course, any delay is regrettable but it is not unusual in a building project of this complexity and scale."

"We have every confidence in the abilities of the headteacher and her staff to ensure that the student’s education will not be disrupted by the loss of these two weeks at the start of the school year."

ENDS

Notes to editors:

The Bishop Justus Church of England School opened in September 2004 in temporary buildings in Magpie Hall Lane, Bromley Common, with six forms of entry for Year 7 and sixty students in Year 8.
It is already a very popular school, with its next Year 7 entry (for September 2005) heavily oversubscribed.
The school’s new building is currently taking shape adjacent to the temporary building, and the project is being supervised by the London Borough of Bromley in partnership with the Diocese of Rochester.
- For media enquiries, please contact either: Richard Simcox, Communications Officer, London Borough of Bromley, on 020 8313 4310, or email:  richard.simcox@bromley.gov.uk; or Kathy Griffiths, Bishop Justus headteacher, on 020 8315 8130