IPSWICH: Construction work on the town’s new academy has formally started – with students on hand to see where they will be learning in just over a year’s time.

The new Academy is to be built in Brazier’s Wood Road behind the Gainsborough Sports Centre and will replace the existing buildings, the former Holywells High School.

The first stage of work is an archaeological dig on the site – with trenches being dug to check whether there is anything of interest under the ground.

So far nothing unexpected has turned up – and providing that remains the same contractors Balfour Beatty hope to start digging the foundations for the new school over the next few weeks.

Academy Principal Nancy Robinson visited the site with four students who are already looking forward to studying in the new building when it opens its doors in September next year.

She said: “It is great to see the machinery here and to have to put on hard hats – it all seems so real now.

“Of course it is not just about the new building – the Academy is about much more than that but this is a very important symbol and everyone is very excited about what is happening here.”

Among the students looking around the site was 15-year-old Diego Torres who will be starting in the sixth form when the new building opens.

He said: “It is going to be really good . Everyone will be able to see the difference between Holywells High and Ipswich Academy and it will be a great place to study.

How important is the new academy building? Write to Your Letters, Ipswich Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, or e-mail starletters@archant.co.uk