WORK has started on rebuilding two Hartlepool schools at a cost of nearly £17m.

Turf was cut at both Manor College of Technology and Barnard Grove Primary School, which are both benefitting from the Government's Priority School Building Programme.

Both the schools’ dilapidated buildings are being completely renovated as part of the £2.4bn programme to rebuild 261 of the schools in England in the worst condition.

Students attending Manor College, a 1,250 capacity mixed secondary school, are set to benefit from a new £14m three-storey super block comprising of updated teaching facilities and a specialist block for 30 pupils with learning difficulties. The renovations also include a major refurbishment of the sports hall and a new multi-use games area.

The new £2.8m two-storey building at Barnard Grove Primary school will provide places for 315 pupils, as well as a 26-place nursery.

At the turf-cutting ceremony, Anne Malcolm, principal of Manor College, said: “We are thrilled by the plans for our new school; they are amazing.”

Lee Walker, headteacher at Barnard Grove, said: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us and we can’t wait until next summer when we can move into our new building.”

The work at Barnard Grove Primary School is due for completion in July 2015, with work at Manor Technical College continuing until September 2016.