Staff and pupils are marking a key milestone in a project to create one of the country's greenest schools.

A topping out ceremony will take place today at the new school for Hillside in Whitleigh, Plymouth, which is set to become the most sustainable school in Britain.

The £5.5 million building has been designed to use natural light, solar power, rainfall and water heated by the earth to cut down on electricity bills and water use.

Natural and recycled materials are being used as much as possible for the school.

Work is progressing well at the site: the road layout has been built, the shell of the building is up, sky lights installed, bore holes sunk into the ground and piping laid for the under-floor heating.

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Headteacher Cliff Edwards said: "The students have been really interested in what's been going on. We've been lucky as the site manager has given us regular updates on what’s going on at the site and has been answering questions our pupils challenge him with.

"They've been very observant and have asked a lot of questions."

The school has also been specifically designed for children with complex special education and social needs. The youngsters were asked for their thoughts and ideas on how they want their school to look at the start of the design process and their ideas have been taken on board.

The school will have a simple layout with an 'internal street' on the first floor to make the most of the views of the natural environment.

The design for the two key stages on the ground floor will enable collaborative and individualised learning.

As well as a brand new building, careful attention is being paid to landscaping with architects Gale & Snowden Architects tasked with creating learning spaces outside so that children can carry out practical learning in a range of subjects including science, food technology and drama in the natural environment.

The landscaping will take place later on in the programme of work, which is due to be finished in time for the start of the new school year in the Autumn.

(CD/JM)