Pupils on the Isles of Scilly celebrated a new dawn in their education this week as they helped builders cut the first turf of the Five Islands School base on St Mary's.

Twenty-five children joined main contractor Kier Western Construction Manager Steve Rosewell and representatives from the school, the Council of the Isles of Scilly and the community to mark the start of work on the £15 million One School Pathfinder scheme in Old Town.

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Designed by Grainge Architects and project managed by Mace Group, the ground-breaking new through-school will cater for pupils aged 3 to 16 – a first in the Building Schools for the Future programme – and will include nursery, primary and secondary class bases. It will provide specialist teaching areas for design & technology, science and performing arts, as well as a library, café and multi-use games area.

Kier Western Director David Snell commented: "We have spent the last 18 months designing and planning this challenging project. The logistics involved with constructing the largest building project in the history of the Isles of Scilly have been both complex and demanding. We are now looking forward to constructing this fantastic scheme which will be a wonderful asset for the whole community for many years to come."

(CD/GK)