Education chiefs from York Council will attend the turf-cutting ceremony which will mark the start of building work on the new Joseph Rowntree School, which is due to be completed for February 2010.

A review of York's secondary schools two years ago revealed that the existing Joseph Rowntree site needed at least £3.2m spent on it to bring its basic facilities up to modern standards.

Staff claimed that the current premises had been built in a piecemeal manner between 1940 and 1975. Despite excellent grounds and playing fields, unlike other York schools, the Joseph Rowntree location had not had any major investment in its buildings for 1,300 pupils.

The designs for the new school have incorporated a host of eco-friendly features, such as a biomass boiler, with underfloor heating to maximise energy efficiency. Materials from the demolition of the old school will be used as the foundation for the new car park.

York Council's executive member for children and young people's services, Coun Carol Runciman, will be among the delegation attending the turf-cutting ceremony on Thursday next week.

She said: "Joseph Rowntree himself believed strongly in the importance of education for young people. I am sure he would have welcomed this important development in the proud history of the school and its community.

"With its state-of-the-art buildings and latest technology, as well as many sustainable features, the school will be welcomed by the young people in the area and the local community, who have been consulted throughout the development.

"It will be great to watch as the building starts to grow and I am delighted that the project is about to start."

York Council announced last month that it had signed a contract worth about £29m with Carillion, one of Britain's leading support services and construction companies, for the design and building of the new Joseph Rowntree School.

The council had become one of 25 authorities nationally to be invited to create a new secondary school under a 15-year, £45bn Government investment programme, Building Schools for the Future.

The school is being built at the rear of the existing site. It will mean that the old school can be completely demolished when the new building is in use.