RESIDENTS in Chafford Hundred are being invited to give their views on the name and curriculum for a new secondary school in the area...but a site for it is yet to be chosen.

The free school – run by the Harris Federation, which already runs the “outstanding” Harris Academy, in Mayflower Road – is set to open next September, when 120 places will be available to local youngsters.

The school will initially be located in temporary buildings on a site off Magnet Road, which is where the new Harris Primary Free School is to be built.

Three possible sites for the new, 1,150-pupil school have been earmarked, but the Education Funding Agency – the Government body responsible for new school buildings – will not reveal where they are.

But, an official said all three sites were accessible to those living in Chafford Hundred and the surrounding areas.

The Government gave the school the green light in June because the Harris Academy currently has about four applicants for every one place available.

A consultation document has been posted to residents in the area, asking for their views on the project so far, including the new school’s name, its curriculum and a sixth form.

The document reveals the classes will be small and the school will “handpick an outstanding team of skilled, energetic and caring teachers”.

It adds that if the new school is flooded with applications, those who live closest to the Abela Surgery, in Drake Road, will be given priority, so “the free school will serve the whole of Chafford Hundred and the areas around it without giving those who live near one end priority”.

The two names for the school currently under consideration are Harris Academy Lakeside and Harris Academy Riverside.

Nicola Graham, principal at the Harris Academy, who will be executive principal of both schools when the new one opens, was keen to emphasise that the two schools would work very closely together.

She said: “We are delighted to have this opportunity to extend the work we do at Harris Academy Chafford Hundred by supporting the new Harris free school.

“It is a very exciting venture that we hope will benefit many more students in the area by offering a superb learning experience.”