KINGSMEAD School in Wiveliscombe is celebrating after hearing that work on a new building worth millions of pounds is set to start this summer.

It was told over a year ago that its bid for a replacement main building had been successful, and indications at the time were that it could be in three years.

But at a meeting with the Department for Education and the Education Funding Agency two weeks ago, the secondary school was told building work was now expected to start this July.

“It will make a big difference to the education of young people in our catchment,” said headteacher Mark Griffin.

“The current one is not fit for purpose – it was designed for 350 students and we have 830 now.

“It has served the community well and dates back to the 1950s, but it has reached its sell-by date and a new building fit for the 21st century is what is needed on this site.”

The cost of the new building will not be known until the procurement process is underway, but Mr Griffin said it would run into millions.

It will go either in front or behind the current building, which houses two art rooms, a room each for design technology and food technology, a drama studio, several general classrooms, PE and changing rooms, and admin offices.

The number of square metres will be the same and the school will have some say in the design of the interior, but it is not yet decided whether it will be either one or two blocks, and two or three storeys high.

Although the current main building is sound at the moment, it would have become unsafe in the next few decades, Mr Griffin said, due to problems of steel in the reinforced concrete becoming rusted.

A feasibility study is the next step, to be followed by the procurement process and then design period, along with planning permission to be sought, before building work is expected to start in July.