Rayleigh and Wickford MP Mark Francois recently performed the pleasant duty of opening the brand new sixth form at Castledon Special School in Wickford.
The school already catered for pupils with special and additional needs aged from 5 through to 16 but there was no special school anywhere in South Essex which provided sixth form provision for these pupils to move onto. This gap has now been plugged by the opening of the sixth form at Castledon, which is to be known as Castledon College.
Mark performed the official opening by cutting the ribbon assisted by a number of pupils at the school and other local councillors including Councillor David Harrison, the Mayor of Basildon, and County Councillor Malcom Buckley.
Speaking about the new Castledon College, Mark Francois said:
“This project to establish the new college has been three years in the making and I can remember the Head Teacher at Castledon, Philippa Holiday, telling me in her office three years ago that she intended to make this dream a reality. So I was delighted to be present three years later and to see her ambitions and those of her staff and governors come true. As the only special needs sixth form in South Essex this will be an asset, not just to my constituents but also to other people across the County. It was a great day to be part of and I look forward very much to staying in touch with Castledon College in the future.”