A holy ceremony in Edgware marked the beginning of building works on the first ever state-funded Hindu school in Britain this weekend.

The ceremony of Bhumi Puja was held at the Krishna Avanti Primary School, in Camrose Avenue, Harrow, where building works are due to be completed in August, 2009.

Politicians, project donors and other guests visited the excavation and construction site for ceremony on Saturday afternoon.

Christine Gilbert, chief inspector of Ofsted, was the guest of honour. She said: "I look forward to the Krishna Avanti School to be a centre of excellence and to be a very positive contribution to the local community."

Krishna Avanti headteacher Naina Parmar said: "We recognise and take our duty seriously in ensuring that we promote community cohesion, inclusion and value intercultural and religious diversity.

"We will ensure our pupils are equipped with lifelong skills and attitudes essential to enable them to make not just positive but outstanding contributions to all aspects of contemporary British society."

Bhumi Puja is the taking of permission of Mother Earth before building work begins. It includes chanting 10,000-year-old Sanskrit prayers, wearing ancient costumes and devotional singing to the accompaniment of Indian drums and cymbals.

The ceremony culminated in a holy Hindu ritual called Yajna, where robed priests, assisted by children, poured sanctified offerings of clarified butter into a large sacred fire.

The event was organised by the I-Foundation who successfully bid for the school and its newly-appointed governors.

The school will be the UK's first Hindu faith-based voluntary aided state school. It will be established as a one-form entry, mixed primary school with attached nursery, and will open in September 2008 with a reception class.