New school, new term, and new start for Trinitarians

Throw in the minor addition that it is the first day of term at a brand-new school, the nervousness for all parties involved was ratcheted up a notch or two – and none more so than for head of school Mark Orrin, who has been tasked with leading Trinity in its temporary accommodation at the Gilberd School. 

It is a task which is both daunting and exciting in equal measure. 

Mr Orrin had previously worked at the Gilberd School for thirteen years, during which time he played a major role in setting up Trinity in time for the new school year. 

Head of school Mark Orrin started the day in school programme, where Trinity's pupils assembled before class

It has not no easy task for Mr Orrin and his staff, however, with delays to the construction of the school’s new building on Colchester’s Chesterwell development having been delayed until, at the earliest, September 2023. 

Over the next two years, Trinity will be operating almost as a school-within-a-school, using temporary buildings at Gilberd; this means that, although classes will take place separately, both Gilberd and Trinity can share the facilities on-site. 

Yesterday saw the first pupils enter the classrooms at Trinity in what will be an interesting and intense two years for staff and pupils alike.

Read more:

• Trinity School in Colchester is delayed again as firm pulls out

• Trinity School 'could' open in September 2023 despite delays

• New building for Trinity School to be built at The Gilberd

But as head of school, Mr Orrin is an optimist, and sees the positives in the unorthodox and temporary “school-within-a-school” setup – not least the fact that the Gilberd School was ranked as outstanding by Ofsted in its last inspection two years ago. 

Mr Orrin said: “It has its advantages.” 

“We have Year 10 pupils from the Gilberd School as mentors for the Year 7s at Trinity, and we know what an outstanding school should offer its pupils. 

“Trinity may be a new school, but it has an established heritage. 

“Having those Year 10s there to mentor our Year 7s is very important – if we were on our own site then they would have a vacuum above them.”

Lead the way - a Trinity teacher leads her pupils to class at 9am

For the first two years of its existence, Trinity will have an enrolment of 120 pupils across Year 7, which will rise to 180 by 2024. 

It will not be until 2025 that Trinity will have a spectrum of five year groups, but head of school Mark Orrin is relishing the unique opportunity of leading the school from its very beginning. 

“It’s been an incredibly exciting process to be involved in,” he said. 

“To have a blank canvas and create a new school is a rare and exciting challenge – and the delay to the building was a massive challenge.”

Mr Auton, special needs co-ordinator for the Trinity School, shows a pupil where to line up at the morning assembly

What is clearer than anything else is that Mr Orrin has a vision and a philosophy as to how Trinity School should grow and progress. 

“One of our key challenges is to ensure that the school rewards the strength of its parent school whilst allowing for its own identity – it can’t be a pale reflection of the Gilberd School,” he said. 

“Not having our own site poses a difficulty of identity, but as the students come into school they are proud to be Trinitarians.” 

In 2027, by which time Trinity pupils and staff will have comfortably settled into its new site, the school aims to have an enrolment of 900 pupils across all year groups. 

This may seem a long way off, but much of the hard yards are being run here and now by Mr Orrin and his staff. 

“It’s been hard work, there’s no two ways about it,” he said. 

“It’s an opportunity that doesn’t come around very often, so to have that opportunity to work on the development is very special. 

“I have been in a very privileged position to be a part of this project.”