BUILDING work on a new multi-million pound super school is under way.

And parents were today promised the £27 million Clyde Valley Campus in Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, will offer their children better educational opportunities.

The campus incorporates nursery, primary and secondary education. It means pupils will experience "all-through" education, learning on the same site from age three to 16 or 18.

The super campus - half the cost is being funded by the Scottish Government -will include a synthetic, floodlit sports pitch and a grassed area for tennis.

It will replace the existing Clyde Valley High School and Castlehill and Overtown primaries, while incorporating a language and communication support centre for pupils with special needs.

Construction got under way under the watchful eye of Scotland's Minister for Learning, Alasdair Allan.

He said: "The new school will provide state of the art accommodation for pupils and I am confident it will be a fantastic addition to the local community when it is completed."

Councillor Jim Logue, learning and leisure convener for North Lanarkshire, said: "The start of the building work marks many years of hard work developing the concept of an 'all-through' three-18 campus.

"A huge amount of effort has gone into bringing the project from the drawing board to cutting the first turf, not least ensuring the right financial package was in place."

He said children would begin to reap the benefit in 18 months' time and added: "The Clyde Valley Campus will significantly improve the educational opportunities for our young people. There is already a sense of anticipation and excitement about the new facility and its potential to implement and deliver whole-schooling from the age of three to 18-years-old."

Secondary pupils will switch from the town's existing high school to the new campus in the run up to Christmas next year, while the nursery and primary phase will be completed by the following May.

gordon.thomson@ eveningtimes.co.uk