Woodlands formed another major part of the first generation of New Town secondary education. Separate boys' and girls' schools opened during the late 1950s, when Basildon's expanding population created an urgent need for secondary places. The schools were closely associated with the Kingswood area and became familiar institutions for families arriving in the New Town.
Woodlands also played a role in the early history of Barstable: pupils intended for the new Grammar and Technical School were temporarily accommodated at the Woodlands schools before the Barstable building was ready. Woodlands later moved away from its original single-sex organisation and by 1978 had become mixed for all year groups.
Nicholas School opened in 1963 as part of the continuing expansion of secondary education across Basildon. It served Laindon and surrounding neighbourhoods during a period of enormous residential growth and remained one of the area's principal secondary schools for more than three decades.
In 1998 Nicholas and The Laindon School were closed as separate institutions and merged to create The James Hornsby High School. Initially the new school inherited accommodation from its predecessors, but in September 2000 it consolidated on the former Nicholas School site.
The creation of James Hornsby represented a major change in Laindon's secondary-school history. Rather than maintaining two older schools, education was reorganised around a single institution. The name commemorated James Hornsby, linking the new school with the history of education in the Laindon area.
The closure and later demolition of the old High Road school marked the end of a building that had served local children since 1928, while the former Nicholas site continued the area's secondary-school tradition into the twenty-first century.
Basildon's growing population also required denominational secondary education. St Anselm's Roman Catholic School opened in 1972, providing a Catholic secondary school for Basildon and the surrounding area. In 1996 the school was renamed De La Salle School.
The development of Catholic education in Basildon was not limited to secondary schools. St Teresa's Roman Catholic Primary School opened in Barstable in January 1957 and was run initially by the Irish Sisters of Charity. Blessed Anne Line Roman Catholic Infant School followed in 1968, illustrating how denominational provision expanded alongside the New Town itself.
Basildon's secondary schools were much more than classroom buildings. Their halls, playing fields, gyms and meeting rooms were used for sport, performances, clubs, public meetings and civic events. In a town populated largely by families who had recently arrived from elsewhere, schools helped new neighbourhoods establish identities and community networks.