A SCHOOL has started work on a new £4m mathematics and science building.

The cornerstone of the new building at Kingham Hill School was laid by Prof Joss Bland-Hawthorn, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Sydney, a former pupil of the school.

Pupils, parents, governors and guests came together for a day of festivities that included an academic symposium, with talks from the Chairman of Electrical Engineering at the University of Oxford, Prof Lionel Tarassenko.

The building is expected to be finished later this year.

It will provide state-of-the-art mathematics classrooms and science laboratories and is part of a wider development plan to upgrade facilities across the site over the coming years.

Headmaster Nick Seward said: “The cornerstone ceremony marked a special moment in the school’s history.

“This is the first significant structure to be built on the Hill for many years and marks an exciting new chapter in the life of Kingham Hill School.

“It was wonderful for our pupils to have the opportunity to hear first-hand from two of the world’s leading scholars.

“It is my hope that this new building will inspire a new generation of mathematicians and scientists, some of whom may also follow in the footsteps of our speakers as experts in their academic fields, but above all, leave school with a thirst for knowledge of the world around them.”