CONSTRUCTION work has begun at the £4.5 million Raglan Primary School, which will be eco-friendly and powered by sunlight.

Building firm Morgan Sindall has won a £3.2 million contract to build the 21st Century School, which will include state-of-the-art classrooms and a school hall, with space for 210 pupils, ready to open from September 2015.

The new school will use photovoltaic panels to convert sunlight into electricity, which will in turn help reduce the school’s carbon emissions.

The site will also use natural ventilation, the process of supplying and removing air to a building without the need for any mechanical systems.

And the new building will use rainwater harvesting, a system which stores rain water until it is needed for other uses, where it is re-distributed.

The school is set to achieve a top environmental rating of excellent under Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM).

Cabinet member for Children and Young People, Cllr Liz Hacket Pain, said: “We’re looking forward to Raglan’s young people receiving the benefit of the facilities offer-ed at their brand new school.

“The construction of the new building and its surroundings reflects the council’s track record in delivering the UK’s most modern primary schools.”