It was a moment that leaders of Helston Community College never truly dared believe would happen until the first spade was in the ground.

But on Monday the official turf cutting ceremony took place for the £17 million pound redevelopment of the college’s North Site. All but the separate, newer languages block will be replaced, with a new three-tier building taking in C-Block (maths and English), D-Block (science and PE) and E-Block (technology), plus a large sports hall, separate assembly hall and reception area, due to open in summer 2019.

Head boy and girl, Thomas Fogg and Freya Tatham, led the ceremony attended by student representatives from every year group, past and present headteachers - including Dr Pat McGovern who began looking for funding during his tenure - the chair of governors, the school business manager and MP Derek Thomas. Representatives from contractors BAM Construction and the Education and Skills Funding Agency were also present.

Freya and Thomas spoke of how excited the students were about having a new building that current and future generations would benefit from, believing it would increase the students’ sense of pride and belonging to the college.

Now that the contractors have begun, headteacher Wayne Jenkins, who has worked at the college for 21 years, said he was finally ready to believe that the days of the freezing leaky building were numbered.

He said: "This is a landmark moment for the college. The young people of Helston and the surrounding areas deserve high quality learning facilities and I am so excited that BAM are on site and construction is underway. "Staff can finally look forward to working in a stimulating and comfortable environment that enhances what they are trying to achieve with the students in their care."

Executive headteacher Donna Bryant agreed: "It has been a lengthy process to reach this point. As I pass the building site each day, I cannot help smiling. I am so pleased for the children and the staff. This will make such a big difference to them."

The college has thanked the Helston Light and Life Church for providing access to the building site through its car park.

The college has been fighting to win funding for the rebuild for almost a decade and was twice let down before finally getting a commitment from the government's Priority School Building Programme.