Community school resurrected in Hackney

Pupils at the Thomas Fairchild Community School in the London borough of Hackney will no doubt have been pleased to return to the educational institute following its official reopening last week.

Children were joined by their parents, members of the community and the London Gospel Choir in order to celebrate the school's resurrection after a fire devastated the original Victorian building.

The festivities were led by special guest Adam Deacon, a Bafta award-winning actor and director, who took a special assembly aimed at inspiring children to work hard while in education.

"You can do anything you want to if you believe in yourself, and your amazing new school is going to help you to do that," he told staff and pupils.

A number of students also paid tribute to the life and times of Thomas Fairchild, a renowned horticulturalist hailing from Hoxton who passed away in 1729.

The new state-of-the-art teaching venue, which is said to have cost 9.4 million to realise, reopened its doors in September 2012, although officials said they would wait until students had settled in before staging a reopening celebration.

Cabinet member for education Rita Krishna said: "Everyone associated with the school was devastated when the old school was destroyed by fire, but it’s to the credit of the staff and pupils that they didn’t let it get them down."

The children were taught at other sites for the three years it took to construct the new institute, which is spread over three floors and boasts state-of-the-art IT and food technology facilities.

A community cafe and spacious playing areas are also among the features that will surely have parents wishing they could go back to school, if only for a day.

Associate headteacher Jenny Lewis proudly welcomed staff, parents and pupils alike to the new venue, saying: "After three years in temporary accommodation, the pupils, parents, teachers and staff of Thomas Fairchild deserve something special - this building is just that."

Posted by Martyn Glynn

Published 28th January, 2013

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