Construction work has begun on an annex that will be the first new grammar school to be built in England in 50 years.

A tree was planted to mark the start of the build, in Sevenoaks, and KCC leader Paul Carter was among the first to lay soil at the official topping out ceremony.

Education secretary Nicky Morgan last year gave the green light for the annex to be built at Sevenoaks, sponsored by the Weald of Kent Girls Grammar School.

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It follows a long-running campaign to provide selective places in the town, launched by parents who said pupils had to travel long distances to take up grammar school places.

Building work started today and the annex is expected to open its doors in September 2017.

It comes amid a row over the re-introduction of grammar schools.

Prime Minister Theresa May, who attended a grammar, has backed a proposed new annex in her own constituency of Maidenhead and supports an "element of selection" in the education system.

She has indicated she will lift the ban on new ones, introduced by Labour in 1998.

Campaign group Comprehensive Future considered pressing for a judicial review of the decision after the Sevenoaks annex was given the go ahead, saying it was in fact a new school as opposed to an expansion.

That is something outlawed by current legislation.

But Conservative leader of Kent County Council (KCC) Paul Carter says the annex is something for the county to be proud of.

He said: “This will be a hugely significant day for selective education in the country.

"We are extremely proud to be the first local authority in the UK to have relentlessly pursued this ambition.

"This is not just a great day for education in Kent but the future of grammar school education across the country.”

Speaking to KentOnline he said: "We have tried really hard over many, many years to get a new grammar school building.

"I have always passionately believed that we need a differentiated education system that plays to the strengths of all young people and you need real choice."