Part 4 covers the New Town secondary school built at Leinster Road as Laindon's population expanded during the 1960s.
By the early 1960s Basildon New Town development had created a much larger population in western Basildon. A new secondary school was required to supplement the older High Road school.
Nicholas County Secondary School opened on 10 September 1963 in Leinster Road. John Goodier was the first headmaster. The school began with around 200 Year 7 pupils organised into seven forms and a relatively small teaching staff.
The name came from nearby St Nicholas Church and St Nicholas Lane. The school itself was generally known simply as Nicholas, rather than St Nicholas School.
The surrounding New Town estates were still expanding, and Nicholas quickly had to accommodate increasing numbers. In 1964 a class from Markhams Chase Primary School was given space at Nicholas because of severe overcrowding at the primary school.
Later in 1964 pupils and staff connected with the new Mayflower School also shared the Nicholas site temporarily while their own accommodation was delayed. This illustrates the intense pressure on school places during the fastest years of New Town growth.
Building work enlarged Nicholas throughout the later 1960s. A large three-storey block and other facilities were added, while temporary classrooms were also used as pupil numbers rose.
Nicholas opened as a secondary modern school but changed to comprehensive status in September 1968. The school expanded its curriculum and developed a sixth form.
A heated indoor swimming pool opened on 1 October 1968. Together with the new teaching blocks it formed part of the major enlargement of the school during the late 1960s.
During the 1970s Nicholas grew considerably, at times educating well over a thousand pupils. Additional temporary accommodation was needed and the sixth form became an important part of the school.
In 1991 Nicholas was reorganised as an 11–16 school. Falling secondary-school rolls across Basildon later led Essex County Council to consider reducing surplus places, and the future of Nicholas and The Laindon School became linked.
Nicholas School's final day was 16 July 1998. It then closed as a separate school and the buildings were prepared for the arrival of the new James Hornsby High School.