A £2.5m project to remove asbestos from Commonweal School is well under way.

The asbestos removal is part of a series of works to spruce up the 83-year-old building in The Mall, Old Town.

According to a Swindon Council spokesman the work is 25 per cent complete and should be finished by next summer.

The money to pay for the work has come from council funds and external grants and will be spread over the next two years’ budgets.

Four extra classrooms are also being constructed, including a laboratory, which is set to be finished by next week. The school’s heating system is also being replaced.

A spokesman for Swindon Council said: “The work is under way and we are about 25 per cent complete. We hope to have it all completed by next summer.

“The asbestos on the left hand side of the first floor has been successfully removed but there is still more work to be done.

“There has been a certain amount of disruption because of the work but we have tried to keep that at a minimum.”

No-one from Commonweal school was available to comment.