Construction is set to begin soon on a new school in Chelmsford, which will be the first in the county to incorporate primary and secondary years, and it is expected to be open by the next academic year.

As part of a £34 million project, the new unnamed school, which will be located in Springfield, will open up an estimated 1,376 school places for the area.

This is split into 900 secondary school places, which is predicted to increase to 1,200 in future years, 420 primary school places and 56 places for early years.

Called an "all-through" school, it will be the first in the county to have both primary and secondary education years on the same site - although each will still be separated into different buildings.

Construction is expected to be finished in time September 2018 so that the school can take on new pupils for the next academic year.

The project, which will be sponsored by Boswell Academy Trust, comes as Essex County Council projections show an anticipated increase in the demand for school places as the Beaulieu development in Springfield continues to grow.

It will also feature enhanced community sports facilities, funded by Chelmsford City Council. These will include additional multi-use courts, an activity studio and changing room facilities.

Construction, which is being undertaken by Kier Construction, will officially get underway following a ceremony at the site on Wednesday, October 11.

Councillor Ray Gooding, Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, said: “We have an excellent track record of investment in schools, including spending about £74million on 2,500 new places for the 2017/18 academic year.

“As a result, we were able to offer a record percentage of pupils a place at their parents’ preferred primary and secondary schools for this September, which is a fantastic achievement.

“We recognise that more investment is still needed to keep pace with the population growth in Essex and plan to spend a further £230million on creating new school places over the next three years.

“These plans for Beaulieu are a big part of that and I am delighted construction is now starting on the county’s first ever all-through school.”

Paul Banks, Executive Headteacher at The Boswells School and CEO of The Boswells Academy Trust, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen to sponsor Essex's first ever all-through school and we are extremely excited by the educational opportunities that the new school will bring to the area.

“Our trust has an excellent track record in achieving superb results for our students and we are looking forward to working with Essex County Council to provide an outstanding provision for the new community at Beaulieu.”