A MAJOR £9.9million rebuilding scheme at a St Ives school will start this summer.

Cambridgeshire County Council said the work at Thorndown Primary School, Hill Rise, will expand the school from its current 430-pupil capacity to enable it to cater for 630 pupils.

There will also be extra places for pre-schoolers and toddlers at the nursery – 26 places for three to four-year-olds and 24 places for two-year-olds.

The project will see older, unsuitable accommodation and mobile class-rooms replaced with permanent buildings. A new two-storey extension will replace the former junior school building and mobile classrooms. It will include 18 new classrooms, a learning area, discovery centre, staff and administration areas and a large hall.

The work also includes the refurbishment of the existing infant school block to provide reception classrooms, an after school club and playgroup facilities. The new building will be built to the right of the existing infant block. The school will also get a new playground and 77-space car park and 120 cycle spaces. CCC said the work is completed to be completed in January 2015 and will allow the school to cope with the increasing population of the town.