The Orsett Heath Academy is a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

secondary free school academy in Grays,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is the newest member of the South West Essex Community Education Trust and was built under the leadership of nearby William Edwards School. Plans to build the new school were approved in April 2017 and it opened in September 2020. Simon Bell of William Edwards is the executive headteacher and the

head of school A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

is Sian Rawson. The school models William Edwards' curriculum and specialism in sports. It also originally had an additional specialism in the arts.

History

In July 2016 the William Edwards School and the South West Essex Community Education Trust applied to the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Department ...

to build a new free school with the expectation that it would be completed by September 2019. It was speculated that the school was not to be built on the

Orsett Heath Orsett Heath is a location and recently built hamlet in the unitary authority of Thurrock, in the ceremonial county of Essex. It is located about twenty miles away from London. Nearby settlements include the towns of Tilbury and Grays and the v ...

but instead on nearby Gammon Field. The plans were approved in April 2017 but the opening was delayed as the school's campus still hadn't been built due to delays in funding. The government granted the school permission to set up a temporary campus via a lease agreement with Blackshots based Thurrock Rugby Club and the school opened in September 2020, one year later than was scheduled. The school's permanent campus, which will have a capacity for 1200 students and is located adjacent to Stanford Road, is currently under construction on the Blackshots playing fields. Originally expected to open in September 2022, there has been a delay in its completion due to the collapse of Caledonian Modular Ltd, the company that was tasked with building the site. Another building will be added to the temporary campus at Thurrock Rugby Club to make room for the enrolment of another 120 students in September 2022.

Headteachers and Deputies

Headteachers

* Simon Bell - Headteacher of William Edwards School and executive headteacher of Orsett Heath Academy (2020–present) * Sian Rawson - Head of school for Orsett Heath Academy (2020–present)

Deputy Headteachers

* Maria Stevens - Deputy headteacher of Orsett Heath Academy (2021)

References

External links

School website
{{authority control Secondary schools in Thurrock Free schools in England Grays, Essex Specialist sports colleges in England Educational institutions established in 2020 2020 establishments in England