Morgan Sindall has been appointed to a £5.2 million contract to rebuild and expand John Ray Infant and Junior Schools in Essex.

The project for Essex County Council is already underway and will see the project team construct a new infant school after the original building suffered extensive fire damage just over a year ago.

The new building will allow the pupils to relocate from temporary class rooms, situated on the adjacent junior school site, to a new, purpose-built facility.

The project includes the construction of a new two-storey infant school with 12 spacious class rooms, a new assembly hall with an adjoining kitchen and a smaller hall.

This new facility will also include a state-of-the-art ICT room and a library. The project team will also construct four brand new class rooms for the junior school, extend the school hall and undertake some external landscaping with the creation of a new sports pitch.

The school building will use sustainable energy in the form of roof-mounted solar panels which will generate electricity for use within the building.

John Ray Infant School is an integral part of the local community, and, as with all Morgan Sindall projects, the construction works will reflect this, with the team sourcing suppliers and subcontractors locally.

Gavin Napper, area director for Morgan Sindall, said: “The re-constructed John Ray Infant School will be a great asset to the local community, providing modernised facilities for the school’s pupils and staff.

“The Morgan Sindall team is well versed in delivering education projects and we are looking forward to rebuilding the school for use by the local community.”