The Elmgreen School is the first new local authority school to be opened in London for over 40 years. It opened in September last year under Lambeth's £220m BSF programme. Students are located at an interim school site in Gypsy Road, West Norwood while the new school is under construction.

It will provide 1,100 secondary school places, including a 30 place hearing-impaired unit and a 200place sixth form.

Construction starts next month and is scheduled for completion in August 2009.

Designed by Scott Brownrigg, the new building will offer a state-of-the-art environment. The cutting edge educational and design concept will allow the school to maximise the use of outdoor spaces.

As well as the Multi Use Games areas, there will be an external amphitheatre, dining terrace, environmental science gardens and hard and soft social spaces.

School facilities will be open to community use.

Councillor Sally Prentice, Lambeth executive cabinet member for Children and Young People said: "We are delighted that things are really moving forward to get the ground-breaking Elmgreen School into its brand new buildings. The new school will provide much needed secondary school places and is part of a borough-wide programme of rebuilding and refurbishing Lambeth's secondary schools."