The 1,080-place Kingsbrook Secondary School will be two and three storeys, offer a sixth form, and a 32-place Special Educational Needs Unit.

It will also feature a sports hall, pavilion, grass sports pitches, an all-weather pitch, and a multi-use-games-area.

Preferred contractor Morgan Sindall is now expected to start work in May on the Bierton project, designed by architect ADP, with view to opening for the Autumn term of 2022.

Romford-based Essex Services Group is reported to have secured the key MEP package for the school.

The 10,000 sq ft school will be heated by air source heat pumps and the use of structural insulated panels (SIPs) is also expected to make the building cheaper to keep warm.

The roof area will have space for 204 sq m of PV panels, generating 28,600 kwh/year.

The building emissions rate will have a 44% reduction in carbon emissions and will achieve the highest Energy Performance Certificate rating of ‘A’.

The operational energy will be below 60 kwh/sqm/year, considerably lower than a typical low energy new school building that is typically around 80 kwh/sqm/year.