COLCHESTER’S newest school will open its doors for the first time today... but not as had been hoped.

Trinity School will start its life at its temporary home at The Gilberd School in Colchester as the permanent premises have not yet been completed.

The staff will move in today with the students at their desks for the first time tomorrow.

There have been years of delays in the construction of Trinity School’s new buildings on the Chesterwell development in Mile End and the new school is now not expected to open until September 2023 at the earliest.

However, a number of temporary buildings have been built on the Gilberd School site to accommodate the staff and students of the Trinity School.

The two academies, while at the same location, will largely operate independently of one another.

However, they will be sharing Gilberd School facilities for dining, external play and sports, whilst Trinity School students will also be able to participate in a full range of extracurricular activities such as the school production, sports teams and student leadership opportunities.

With the first phase of construction having been completed over the summer, Trinity School students and staff will have the requisite classrooms and administration buildings to use for the school year, with a second storey set to be added to the classroom building in the summer of 2022.

As for the construction of the permanent buildings for Trinity School in Mile End, it has been a project fraught with setbacks.

Building contractor Laing O’Rourke pulled out of plans to construct Trinity School earlier this summer with another now being sought to complete the project.