THE FIRST sod has been cut by Coun Linda Burgess to mark the start of construction of a £27m superschool to replace Darton High.

Designers Laing O'Rourke met staff, Mayor Coun John Parkinson and Darton ward councillors at the ceremony on Monday.

As she cut the sod, Coun Burgess said it was a fantastic day to celebrate and believes the project will bring big changes to the Kexborough community.

Preparation work started this week when a single storey starter cabin was brought on site along with the erection of fencing and the formation of a temporary car park.

The first phase of construction starts on July 20.

The second stage will be the demolition of the former school to make way for pitches which will be ready to use in 2012.

Hours of work are between 7.30am and 6pm, Monday to Friday, but a spokesperson for Laing O'Rourke said there may be occasions when weekend work is required but residents will be notified.

The site will be accessed off Ballfield Lane until early 2011 and during the second phase, from spring 2011 to summer 2011, it will be from Upper Field Lane.

There will be a permanently manned site gate during hours of construction and it will be monitored by security guards and 24-hour CCTV.

The whole development will be surrounded by a 2.4m solid steel fence to act as a deterrent for breaking and entering.