A £2 MILLION project to improve a Lyme Regis school is due to get underway in the new year.

Work is set to start at The Woodroffe School thanks to funding from the government's Priority School Building Programme which targets the needs of schools most in need of urgent repair.

The development will include a new two-storey teaching block with classrooms and a group learning space, library resource centre and additional office space to help expand the school’s academic offering.

Landscape work will also be undertaken to include the creation of new footpaths in the surrounding areas, providing full accessible circulation to the ground floor and accompanying lifts for disabled users.

Daniel Watts, headteacher at The Woodroffe School: "We are delighted to have been chosen as one of the schools to receive this investment and are grateful to all those who made this possible.

"After a lengthy wait we are finally at the point where spades are about to break ground on the construction of our new teaching block.

"The project should last approximately 12 months, with a completion date in February 2022. Whilst that seems to be a long way off, I am sure that the time will go by very quickly.

"The new block will consist of three teaching rooms, a new whole school library/quiet study space and some small breakout rooms. The excellent new facilities will support the school in providing an enhanced environmental experience for our students."

The plans provide the necessary replacement facilities for library and teaching accommodation currently provided in the school’s ROSLA block, meaning the school would effectively be moving these facilities to the new block.

The year-long scheme will pose a number of challenges, including the navigation of a live site and logistical difficulties with the stand-alone new build cut into a hillside to accommodate for the elevated terrain.

Rob Speirs, regional director at construction company Stepnell, said: “We will continue to remain on site throughout this next stage of lockdown as long as it is safe to do so. We are committed to delivering our projects on-budget and on time, but the well-being of our employees is of paramount importance.

"We will carry on implementing these health and safety precautions with full vigour while monitoring any changes in the government guidelines to make sure we are adhering to the rules set in place.”