Pupils and teachers from a Barnet primary school were celebrating last week after councillors gave the go-ahead for the reconstruction of their crumbling school.

Whitings Hill School executive headteacher Susan Convery and a group of young students looked on with excitement as the contract was signed at the North London Business Park, in Southgate, last Thursday.

The school is the first to be built under Barnet Council's ambitious Building Successful Schools scheme, which will see six ageing primary schools rebuilt by 2011. It will open its doors in September 2009.

Councillor Matthew Offord, cabinet member for Investment in Learning, said: "This is a great day for education in Barnet, and proof that we are delivering our pledge to give our children the best possible start in life.

"We are laying the foundations for further improvements in educational attainment by equipping pupils and staff with the means to raise their already impressive standards even higher."

Kier London was recently selected as the council's preferred partner after competing to produce the best and most value-for-money designs.

Kier managing director Peter Everard said: "We at Kier London are extremely proud of the part we'll be playing in the delivery of Whitings Hill School and are looking forward to demonstrating excellence in the provision of educational facilities for the 21st Century."

The new school will cater for about 420 pupils and will replace the existing building, which will be demolished. The building is designed to provide extended use of facilities, which include a new swimming pool, for both the school and the community.

Whitings Hill has been designed as a "green" school using several forms of renewable technology, including a ground source heat pump that will both heat the building in winter and provide some cooling in summer.

Barnet's Building Successful Schools scheme is funded by sales of surplus school land, grant income, developers' contributions and short-term borrowing.