POST CAMPAIGN: Help bring secondary school to Barking and Dagenham borough

The Barking and Dagenham Post has launched a campaign to help make plans for a new secondary school in the borough a reality.

The Barking Riverside development is in desperate need of a school as the shortage of places becomes an increasingly worrying situation.

The influx of housing will trigger a major spike in a growing population that already has the residents of the vast Thames View Estate to

contend with, making the need or a school south of the A13 ever more urgent.

Free school funding will accelerate the development of the school, named the Riverside Co-operative Free School, so that it could be up and running within years.

Without it, residents could be waiting much longer while the issue of school place shortages becomes more desperate.

The Barking and Dagenham Co-operative Learning Partnership will submit its bid for free school funding at the end of February.

Your help is crucial in ensuring that the bid is a success.

Under government regulations, as many parents as possible from the catchment area must choose the Riverside School as first choice for their children.

Parents must have children in current Years 4 or 5, in time for 2013 or 2014 entry.

Without parental support, the bid will be rejected and the school will take much longer to materialise.

To register your support, visit www.riversidefreeschool.com and nominate Riverside School as your first choice before the end of February.

You will also need to give your name, postcode, the name of your child, and year group.