Construction is underway to build a new £29m secondary school in Dartford.

Stone Lodge School is set to move into its brand new premises in the Stone Valley area in February next year.

New facilities will include specialist science and engineering classrooms and a separate sports block and outside pitches.

The £29 million project was signed off by Dartford council in 2018 which made the land available for use by the school.

The school is currently operating from temporary premises and remains open to vulnerable students and children of key workers. Only Years 7 and 8 are currently housed at the school.

But once the new build is complete it will host around 1200 students and an additional 250 or so sixth form students.

Head teacher Gavin Barnett said: “This year we were the most oversubscribed non-selective secondary school in Kent, our new building will allow us to increase our intake to provide more local children access to the excellent education and ethos of Stone Lodge School”.

Mr Barnett added “We are incredibly proud of our students, of the work they put into their studies and the resilience they continue to show over this prolonged period of lockdown.

"As staff, we quickly adapted to providing all lessons, live and interactive online, enabling all students to continue with their learning and remain connected to the school community.

"Our belief that emotional wellbeing and academic achievement go hand in hand, is central to the support and guidance we offer our students.”

Dartford's newest secondary school is run by Endeavour MAT, the trust responsible for both sets of Wilmington grammar schools and sixth forms.

It's anticipated opening was put back as a consequence of the pandemic but construction is now said to be progressing at pace in line with a completion date of February 2022.

Building firm BAM has been appointed to oversee the work and the team has already conducted ecological investigations, relocated wildlife and maintained public rights of way.

The designs support an eco-friendly approach to the school environment which was recognised with an award at the Green School Awards 2020 and it is now working towards the goal of achieving the Eco Schools Green Flag accreditation.

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