The building of a new Samual Ward Academy, in Haverhill, is set to start next March with a finishing date set for Spring 2019.

And Wates Construction has been selected as the preferred bidder by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) to construct the secondary school for 11 to 18-year-olds.

Upon completion, buildings that have been replaced will be demolished, with the whole project reaching completion in Autumn 2019.

The proposed appointment forms part of Phase 2 of ESFA’s Priority School Building Programme 2 (PSBP2) to rebuild or refurbish those school buildings in the very worst condition across the country. The new building at Samuel Ward Academy is the first of five proposed projects that Wates will deliver across Suffolk as part of the programme.

The selection follows on from the announcement of Wates as preferred bidder for a new school building for Brakenhale Academy in Bracknell, the first of four projects across the Thames Valley that Wates is scheduled to build through PSBP2. Wates previously built 19 schools under PSBP’s first phase.

Ian Vickers, business unit director of Wates Construction Home Counties, said: “Our team has developed an impressive pedigree in the education sector, having built over £200m of new schools across the region in the last five years. This demonstrates our suitability to deliver first class teaching environments for the Education and Skills Funding Agency, and our recent selection as preferred bidders on these two projects further reflects our deserved status as one of the best school building contractors in the country.”

Final confirmation of the appointment is expected in early 2018.