Construction work is set to start on a £26 million Walton High Brooklands Campus which is due to create hundreds of new school places in the autumn of 2016.

The project by Milton Keynes Council is an expansion of Walton High academy to provide 1200 secondary and up to 400 Post-16 places for Brooklands and Broughton Gate.

The three storey building is being built by Wates Construction on a 9.36 hectares site and the grounds include sports pitches and fenced and floodlit multi-use games area and all weather pitch.

The first 270 students (90 in each of years 7, 8 and 9) will be able to attend the new Walton High Brooklands Campus in the autumn of 2016.

Cllr Norman Miles, cabinet member responsible for Children and School Improvement, said: “The building of this campus is part of our wider aim to provide an extra 10,000 places across the borough by 2018.

“This build is part of the council’s ambitious £160 million programme which will see the creation of seven brand new schools and the expansion of 12 more by 2018, cementing the borough’s reputation as one of the leading school builders in the country.”

Ian Vickers, Regional Managing Director for Wates Construction, said: “The start of construction at Walton High Brooklands Campus is a huge step forward in Milton Keynes Council’s ambitious investment in the town’s schools and marks a significant milestone in the creation of what is set to become a first class educational environment.”