Our History

Pettits Secondary School

The school was opened in 1936 as Pettits Senior Council school. It was enlarged in 1945-6 and later became Pettits Secondary School. 

Upper School, Havering Drive, 1999

In 1973 it was amalgamated with Romford County Technical School to form Marshalls Park Comprehensive, with this being known as the Upper School and Pettits Lane being the Lower School.

Lower Site, New Build Construction, 1999

In July 1999 the Upper School in Havering Drive was closed, and the two schools combined on the Pettits Lane site. This necessitated an 18-month, £5.5 million modernisation, including a new sports hall, refurbished classrooms, music room, computer rooms, large library and science laboratories.

New Combined Site Opened, 2000

The new site was officially opened by the Rt Hon. David Blunkett, MP, Secretary of State for Education.

Dance Studio Opened, 2010

In 2006, it was designated Specialist Status for the Performing Arts and a new Dance Studio extending in to the central Quad was completed in 2010.

Academisation, 2017

In April 2017, Marshalls Park converted to an Academy and joined the ‘South West Essex Community Education Trust’ (SWECET).

New Building (C Block)

C Block was opened at the beginning of the 2022 academic year allowing Marshalls Park Academy to further flourish in even better surroundings. The block houses a number of classrooms and science labs as well as a state of the art technology suite and a professional standard dance studio. All rooms are equipped with the highest level of technology including dual projectors ensuring no students are without a perfect view of the whiteboard.