A TIMELINE to replace all four of Monmouthshire's high schools has been set out by the council, while work to reconstruct part of a primary school destroyed by fire in 2011 will finish earlier than expected.

The plans mean the authority will end up building three new schools at the same time.

Proposals for the £80 million project to replace secondary schools in Monmouth and Caldicot, as well as upgrades for nearby primary schools, will be finished by July and submitted to planning officers in August.

If approved, construction would start in February 2015 and finish at the end of 2016.

Rebuilding Chepstow School and King Henry VIII Comprehensive in Abergavenny remain a priority, said Monmouthshire council, and plans will be drawn up once construction work begins in Monmouth and Caldicot.

Meanwhile the project to replace the Foundation Phase building at Thornwell Primary School with a new building will be finished by the end of this term, with pupils moving in over the summer term.

The new block had previously been scheduled to open at the start of the autumn term in September.

Work to build three new schools in Raglan, Monmouth and Caldicot will begin "soon", said the council, adding that plans have been submitted for a new 21st Century primary school in Raglan, due for completion in June 2015.

The council has chosen Interserve as its partnering contractor in delivering the first phase of the schools programme.

Councillor Liz Hacket Pain, cabinet member for schools and learning, said: “This is brilliant news and builds on our solid track record of building the most modern schools in the UK.

“At one point in this we’ll be building three new schools at the same time. But I’m very confident in our ability to deliver on this very ambitious project.”