Work has started on a £2.3 million Sixth Form teaching block at Chatham Grammar School.

The two storey building on the Rainham Road, Chatham site will house eight classrooms, offices and toilets and is due to be completed by November.

A ground breaking ceremony took place at the school last week.

The expansion, which will replace three outdated buildings, also means that its Sixth Form student intake will increase from 136 to 200 and teaching staff number would go from 68 to 80.

It is the third time the academy has put in an application - the first was objected by Sport England due to the proposal being on a disused part of its playing feld.

A second submission was rejected due to concerns over potential impact on trees.

The modern building will become the main entrance for visitors as well as providing desperately needed new teaching space.

Funding was approved via the government's Condition Improvement Fund to help schools gain the financial backing to provide facilities they need.

Judy Rider, chief executive of the University of Kent Academies Trust (UKAT) said: "I am really pleased to see much deserved investment in new teaching facilities, at the growing and popular Chatham Grammar.

"The new buildings are yet another marker in the vibrant and transformational journey of the Academy since it came under the strategic leadership of the University of Kent in 2017, and signals a new phase in the school's 100-year-old history, complementing the significant rise in standards and achievement placing it in the top of the Medway grammar school league tables."

Chatham Grammar became part of UKAT in 2017. There are more than 800 pupils on the roll including over 200 in the mixed Sixth Form.

The school now plans to build an outdoor catering facility and is set to become part of a new medical training centre led by the University of Kent to help students aiming to join the medical profession.

News from our universities, local primary and secondary schools including Ofsted inspections and league tables can be found here.

Read more: All the latest news from Medway