The rebuild is part of the £200m Building Schools for the Future programme which has already made a dramatic impact to a number of schools in the Borough, including the rebuilding of Abraham Darby Academy, Woodlands Primary School and the Abraham Darby leisure centre.

The design and construction of the new Ercall Wood Technology College is being undertaken by Shepherd Construction Ltd.

The new 900 place secondary school will have high quality sports pitches, which will be available for community use, and which will include indoor and outdoor cricket facilities.

The turf cutting today marks the start of the build with the school scheduled to open in September 2014. The existing school will be demolished once the pupils have moved into the new site and further outside work and finalising the car park will then be completed by early 2015.

Councillor Paul Watling, cabinet member for Children, Young People and Families, said: “Our extensive Building Schools for the Future Programme continues at an exciting pace and the turf cutting today at Ercall Wood shows the ongoing commitment that we have here at the Council to provide the best educational facilities we can for young people across the borough.

Chay Davis, Head Teacher at Ercall Wood Technology College, said: “Today feels like the start of a new chapter here at Ercall Wood.

“So much planning has gone into this and I can hardly believe that we’ve actually reached the start of the build.

“This marks the start of a very exciting time not only for me, but for the pupils, staff and governors who work so hard to make Ercall Wood great. The fact that we are now getting a brand new school to match our aspirations and commitment is phenomenal.”