West Ham player helps open new buildings at school in Harold Wood

David Martin unveiling a plaque on the new building at Redden Court

West Ham United’s David Martin has helped open two new buildings at a secondary school in Harold Wood.

The goalkeeper was at Redden Court School yesterday to unveil the plaque commemorating the new sport block.

He was joined by the deputy mayor of Havering, Councillor John Mylod, who opened the new science building.

Martin, whose godson attends Redden Court, cut the ribbon on the sport block, which headteacher Paul Ward said brought the school into the 21st century.

“It’s been two areas of the school where we’ve always been slightly embarrassed by our facilities,” he told Time 107.5. “It’s absolutely what our students deserve; these facilities are a match for facilities anywhere in the country.

Martin and Cllr Mylod observe a P.E. lesson in the new block

“We only had three science labs; now we have six. In P.E, we had one indoor space that we could use; now we’ve got three really large indoor spaces so it means, in poor weather, we can still run a meaningful P.E. curriculum.”

The buildings are part of a £5.7 million expansion of the school to help cater for its 867 pupils.

Redden Court has been oversubscribed for several years, according to Havering Council.

Cllr Mylod unveiling the plaque on the science block

The science block also contains new maths classrooms and are part of a borough-wide project that will see more than £23 million invested in school expansion.

Councillor Robert Benham, Havering Council’s cabinet member for education and children, said: “We know the population is growing, so to meet that need, existing schools are having to be expanded and also new schools are planned to be built.”

Cllrs Benham and Mylod speak to a science teacher

Cllr Benham added: “The impressive new buildings will help our children to continue to improve their learning and to access the most up-to-date equipment and facilities.

“The additional investment in our schools will ensure that we continue to have top notch schools and keep the borough at the forefront of leading schools across London.”