Work on a £9.5 million expansion at Abbeyfield School in Chippenham is progressing, with a turf-cutting ceremony marking the latest stage of the development.
Wiltshire Council is investing £9.5 million in the project, which will be delivered in three phases and provide additional teaching space for up to 450 pupils and 39 staff.
Abbeyfield School currently has around 900 pupils aged 11 to 16, alongside 171 students in its sixth form.
The first phase of the expansion will provide capacity for up to 150 additional pupils from September 2027. The timing of the remaining phases will depend on the pace of housing growth in Chippenham.
The completed development will include a new two-storey teaching building with a hall, sixth form study area, changing rooms and additional classrooms.
Phase one will provide a hall and performance space, a post-16 learning area, five classrooms and toilet facilities.
The second phase will add a further six classrooms and four science laboratories, while the final phase will include two art rooms, three design and technology classrooms and three additional general teaching classrooms.
The wider scheme also includes additional parking, a covered cycle store and improved staff and visitor parking. Off-site infrastructure improvements will also be carried out to support safe and accessible journeys to and from the school.
Morgan Sindall is the main contractor for the project.
Cllr Jon Hubbard, Cabinet Member for Education at Wiltshire Council, said the investment would help ensure local young people had access to high-quality facilities as Chippenham continued to grow.
He said: "I'm very pleased to see work progressing on these additional school places at Abbeyfield. This investment will help ensure that, as Chippenham continues to grow, local children and young people have access to high-quality facilities where they can learn, develop and succeed.
"Reaching this milestone is a significant moment for the project, and I look forward to seeing the new facilities take shape over the coming months and years."
Nick Norgrove, Headteacher at Abbeyfield School, said staff were already seeing significant changes to the site and were looking forward to the benefits the new building would bring.
He said: "We are all astonished with the rate at which the site is transforming and the excitement that the new building will bring with it so many benefits to the school. This will really have a significant impact for thousands of pupils and members of the local community in the coming years.
"It has been especially pleasing to meet Morgan Sindall's Social Values Advisor - Georgie, who along with several members of staff are ensuring the school's pupils benefit throughout the build and not just at the end.
"Projects that are going to be taking place are a careers-based enterprise project, school gardening club development, sixth form Science Technology English and Maths challenges, work experience and interview support to name just a few.
"We look forward to seeing the site continue to transform over the winter months."
Robert Williams, Area Director for Morgan Sindall Construction in Wales, said the new building would allow Abbeyfield to expand its sixth form provision and offer students a more comprehensive experience.
He said: "This is the latest stage of this amazing new Sixth Form building for Abbeyfield students. The new building will allow the school to grow and offer a more comprehensive Sixth Form experience to students wanting to go into further education.
"It was a thrill to invite everyone to join us at the turf cutting ceremony. It is a fantastic moment for everyone to come together, reflect on how far this project has come already and to look ahead to next year, where we will see the building welcome its first students."
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