STAFF and students are putting their weight behind the final hurdle of a campaign for a new sixth form building at their school.

Coopers’ Company and Coborn School in St Mary’s Lane, Upminster are gearing up to raise �175,000 so that the last stages of the building work on their new sixth form Centre can be completed.

Fundraising Campaign Manager, Liz Evans said: “We have come a really long way with this Sixth Form Centre appeal so its really important that we raise the �175,000 so that it can all be finished because it would be a shame to let all of the work we have already done go down the drain.”

The appeal has already racked in �575,000 which was raised through a fundraising event and donations from businesses and individuals.

In July this year work started on building the new sixth form but the �175,000 is still needed to complete the last minute building work and furnish the centre.

The school’s headteacher Dr David Mansfield said: “To raise such a large amount of money is an example that we are a real community.

“We have even had help with this appeal from many our former students because when people leave the school there is always something that keeps them coming back.”

The school launched the appeal last year to raise the funds to build a new sixth form centre after their students had outgrown the current building and were forced to use the dinning room to study.

Instead of waiting for a grant from the government, the staff made the decision to raise the funds themselves because of the cuts in the school building programme.

Liz Evans said: “We shouldn’t have to be raising the money ourselves for the Sixth Form Centre but we knew that the way things were going we had to do it ourselves if not it would not have looked likely.

“We wanted to do the appeal so that our students could get a centre that they deserved.”