A PURTON school dug their spades into the soil to celebrate the start of construction work on their brand new sports field.

Staff, students and North Wiltshire MP James Gray donned hard hats and high vis vests to mark the beginning of the five month project at Bradon Forest School.

The glittering facility will include space for badminton courts, cricket, changing rooms and an upstairs function room for the community to use.

North Wiltshire MP James Gray was there to cut the first sod and talk about his life as an MP with the students.

“I was very impressed with the students who asked some very intelligent and bold questions," he said. "Sports are an integral part of their development and I wish I’d got more involved in sports when I was younger. This is a fantastic opportunity for them."

Construction is expected to finish in October with head teacher Andrew Morrison saying the building would enhance the sport offerings for the school’s 850 pupils and the local community.

“Sport is an important part of the curriculum and you have to have that balance within subjects. When you are having to practice sports in the canteen between lunch then you don’t have that balance so it’s a very much needed facility for the whole school,” he said.

Head of PE Andy Hartley said the student body were delighted with the replacement of the sports facility.

“All the students, even some of the not so sporty ones are getting really excited about having a new sports hall. We put a strong emphasis on sport here and the sports gym we have at the moment isn’t really up to dealing with an increased number of students.

“This will give our basketball, rugby, badminton and cricket students the chance to practice more - and you never know, we might see a future Olympic champion train here.”

The building will also serve as a community sports hub and was funded by the Ridgeway Farm Development fund.