THE new school at the former Alderman Blaxill site will be a secondary, it has been revealed.

Essex County Council has said the 900-pupil school should be open by September 2019.

It has not yet been decided who will run the school, with the option still open for it to be a free school and be run by the community or a group rather than the council.

It is the latest in a number of school expansions County Hall has announced for Colchester.

Ray Gooding, Essex county councillor responsible for education, said: “Colchester is the fastest growing town in Essex and the demand for school places in the area continues to rise.

“We have spent about £25million creating 1,700 new school places in Colchester since 2013/14 and are committed to ensuring that investment continues.

“From 2017 we expect to see the growing number of children in primary schools feed through into the town’s secondary schools, creating the need for hundreds more places in the coming years.”

Four options had been considered for the site, which is not expected to keep the name Alderman Blaxill.

It could become the first primary and secondary school on the one site in Essex.

The first option was for an “all-through” school, with 420 primary school pupils and 600 secondary school students with an added early years block for 56 children.

The second option was for a larger secondary school with a sixth form, and an all-weather pitch.

The third option was a secondary school and sixth form, but no primary school.

The fourth option, which is the one chosen, is for a secondary school with a primary pupil referral unit for up to 30.

Discussions are continuing about whether the proposals should include the pupil referral unit for primary school aged pupils and key working housing for teachers.

The site is set to be demolished next summer and construction work should start in January 2018 with the new school opening in September 2019.

Alderman Blaxill opened in 1955 and fought off two closure attempts, in the Nineties and in 2008, before finally closing in 2014 due to falling pupil numbers.

Residents and councillors have campaigned for a school at the site ever since.

Colchester is set to get a raft of new and expanded schools over the coming years.

Camulos Academy opened in September, while Monkwick Infant and Junior Schools, St John’s Green Primary School and The Gilberd School have all been expanded.

Projects currently in progress include plans to create 300 extra spaces at both The Stanway School and Philip Morant School.

Expansions are also planned at three other primary schools. But Mr Gooding said further details could not be revealed at this time.

He added: “The expansions at The Stanway School and Philip Morant School, together with proposals for a free school in north Colchester and these plans for the former Alderman Blaxill site, will create at least 16 new classes per year group and ensure there are enough places to meet demand.”