BUILDING work has begun to give a Swindon secondary school a new lease of life. Phase one of the building work at Headlands School kicked off this week with the refurbishment of the school's west wing.

This part of the school was closed by headteacher Jan Shadick when she took over in September 2004 after the school had been put into special measures.

She said: "When I arrived I made the decision to close it because it was in such a terrible state.

"It is very dilapidated and needed completely redecorating.

"I didn't think it was a good enough environment for the children to be in and was not conducive to learning.

"Phase one of the building work will involve completely refurbishing the west wing.

"Four very big new classrooms will be created and the music and drama departments will be moved there."

The work will also involve building a new visitors' entrance and creating a staff car park on the site.

Jan said: "At the moment the cars and the children all leave at the same time from the same place.

"But we are creating a new staff car park with an entrance on Headlands Road and the children will continue to leave through the Cricklade Road entrance.

"There will also be a new gate that can be closed at the moment we can't close the gate. So the school will be a much more secure site.

"A new play space for the children will be built on the site of the old car park.

"We will also be getting new netball courts and tennis courts on the site."

Jan believes that improving the environment at the school will help to boost motivation among the students.

She said: "Our students must feel valued. It's essential to make sure that the environment they've got is the best it can possibly be.

"If you are sitting in an environment that is appealing it does make you feel like you want to be there.

"This will bring us more up to date, with better facilities and better premises, and that can only have a positive impact on teaching and learning."

The work is expected to finish in April.