The next stage in a plan to create a state-of-the-art academy school for Maidstone is set to be given the green light.

A detailed proposal for the multi-million pound New Line Learning Academy is expected to be approved next week by KCC’s planning committee.

If approved, a new school will be built on the site of the former Oldborough Manor Community School at Boughton Lane for up to 1,050 pupils aged 11 to 16.

The mainly two-storey building will open in 2010 and, in line with KCC policy, will feature large areas – dubbed “learning plazas” – in which classes of up to 120 students from different year groups will be taught.

Pupils will spend the bulk of their lesson time in these 10 super-sized classrooms, which according to a report are intended to make the academy unlike a traditional school.

The existing buildings will be demolished and replaced, with the addition of a sports hall, outdoor pitches, 153 parking spaces and a vocational studies centre.

The New Line Learning Academy came about through the amalgamation of the Senacre and Oldborough NLL schools.

The former Senacre site is expected to make way for a development of about 350 homes.