Kier North East has signed a £46 million contract with Northumberland County Council to deliver three new buildings for the Northumberland Church of England Academy, sponsored by the Duke of Northumberland and the Church of England Diocese of Newcastle.

Work has begun on all three of the campuses, which will be named after the local Northumberland legends Grace Darling, William Leech and Josephine Butler, and is being carried out by Kier North East and Kier Build, Kier's major projects arm.

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Northumberland County Council's member with responsibility for children and young people, Cllr Lesley Rickerby, said: "We are looking forward to the completion of the new Academy buildings, which will provide excellent facilities for staff and pupils on all three campus sites. Naming each campus after celebrated Northumbrians, who are revered for their good works and bravery, is a wonderful idea."

The Grace Darling Campus, on the site of the former Newbiggin Middle School in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, and the William Leech Campus, being constructed on the Lynemouth Primary School site, are due to be completed by summer 2011. The third and largest development, the Josephine Butler Campus in Ashington - formerly Hirst High School and Seaton Hirst Church of England Middle School – will be one of the biggest and most ambitious Academy buildings in the north of England and is scheduled to open by Easter 2012.

(CD/KMcA)