The academy is just months away from the opening of its multimillion-pound campus that the head teacher says will be the best in Dover.

A new extension, named the Central Heart, is nearing completion and will house all vocational teaching under one roof.

The building features a hair and beauty salon which will be accessible to the public, and a kitchen for students who are training.

Large scientific experiments will be held in the flexible, open-plan labs on the second floor, which will also contain a new canteen and assembly hall.

Students at the Melbourne Avenue school are already benefitting from an extended sports hall with a remodelled dance and fitness suite, and new changing rooms.

Head teacher Sam Williamson said: “For students in Whitfield who have not seen any investment for more than 30 years, I think it is going to be a genuinely inspirational space.

“I think that we will have the best facilities in Dover.

“We’ve got 124 Year 7s coming in this September. The highest that has been in this school is about 99 at the most.

“I don’t think it is all down to the new build, it is also the combination of rising standards.

'We are in a very different place teaching-wise than what we were five years ago when I arrived here...' - head teacher Sam Williamson

"We are in a very different place teaching-wise than what we were five years ago when I arrived here.

“It was somewhat limited and we have improved dramatically since that time.”

The £10.9 million refurbishment has been funded by Kent County Council’s Batch 2 Academies fund, announced nearly a year ago to the day.

Building firm Willmott Dixon has been transforming the school since last September. Iain Smith, director of finance and operations at the academy, said: “Work has been moving very smoothly.

“I am impressed with Willmott Dixon, who have worked well with the school and accommodated our teaching requirements around their building requirements. There is a secure line across the site, and only those workers who are CRB checked are allowed to go through, and if not they have to be escorted.”

Parts of the development will be open in June, but the finished product will be revealed to students and the public in September for the new academic year.

For more details and a picture special, pick up the Dover Mercury for 95p, out today.