Priti Patel MP at the opening of the new building at Copford Primary School with, from left, Katie Hanson Chair of Governors, Cllr Tony Ball Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Education, David Bome Headteacher, Mervyn Denney MD of TJ Evans, and David De’Ath Vice Chair of Governors. The two students are representing the Year 6 School Council
Witham MP opens new building at Copford Primary School
Priti Patel, the Member of Parliament for Witham, joined guests at Copford Church of England Primary School on Friday 19th May to officially open its new state of the art building.
As the MP for Witham, Priti made a number of representations to local authority bodies on behalf of the School to push for the new building and to accelerate the project through the delays that it experienced. This project has taken many years and the Headteacher of the school, Mr David Bome, has done an immense amount of work to ensure that the project stayed on course.
At the official opening of the building, Priti was joined by Cllr Tony Ball, the Cabinet Lead for Education at Essex County Council, along with Clare Kershaw, the Director of Education for Essex, Carrie Prior the new Director of Education for the Diocese and many other notable guests.
Priti also took the opportunity to present the school with a basket containing seeds and gardening tools, as part of her Get Witham Growing project, which is aimed at helping children to develop horticultural skills and an appreciation for nature.
Following the event, Priti said “I was delighted to be able to join Copford Primary School today and officially open the new building. This building has been a long time coming, and I am pleased to see the result of years of determination and hard work.
“This project began because of the urgent need to replace classrooms which were not fit for purpose due to uneven floors, leaking roofs, damp and mould. Those conditions were unacceptable for a learning environment, so I very much welcome this vital new building of which I know the school will make good use.”