MP Visits Ixworth Free School As Refurbishment Programme Nears Completion

Students at Ixworth Free School welcomed Matthew Hancock, MP for West Suffolk, on Friday (27th November) for a special tour around the school’s new facilities. The school opened in September 2014 as part of the Seckford Foundation Free Schools Trust and has been undergoing an extensive £4.4 million refurbishment programme to accommodate growing student numbers and to provide more modernised learning spaces.

Following his last visit in November 2014, Matthew Hancock, who is also Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, was pleased to see what changes the school had made in its first year since opening. Students are already enjoying newly refurbished classrooms and a gym, as well as a new open plan learning zone and art studios. By January 2016 the school will have a new front entrance and reception area, multi-purpose hall and a landscaped outdoor learning space.

Matthew Hancock MP said: “It was wonderful to see the progress Ixworth Free School is making, the positivity of the students, the impressive improvements and the determination of the leadership to see pupils succeed. As local MP it is my job to support all the schools in West Suffolk to succeed, and it is hugely heartening to see the school blossoming”.

Niki King, Headteacher at Ixworth Free School, said: “We were delighted to welcome Matthew Hancock MP to our school again and students enjoyed giving him a tour of our wonderful new facilities, as well as learning more about his role as their local MP. It is an exciting time for the school as we near the end of our refurbishment programme and we are all looking forward to enjoying the completed new facilities in the New Year.”