Work begins on Manchester flat-pack school

A school in Manchester will become the first British primary school to be built with an innovative timber panel system.

Construction company Willmott Dixon has started work on the new building for St Agnes C of E Primary school in Longsight, which will be built using a system of pre-fabricated wooden frames and timber panels manufactured at a factory in Switzerland.

The frames are cut by computer and interlinked like a jigsaw puzzle and is expected to save £10,000 and up to 6 weeks in construction time.

It is only the third building in the country to be constructed in this way.

The three-storey building will have a rooftop playground and zoned classrooms - allowing local residents access to gym and computer facilities out of hours.

The school is due to open in March 2009.