A headteacher has spoken of his delight as work to expand his school to 1,500 pupils gets under way.

Little Ilford School, in Browning Road, will be completely rebuilt over the next two years, with 150 more places set to be added.

And despite initial worries, headteacher Ian Wilson is very excited about the grand project, which is due to be completed in September 2017.

“I think it’s going to be great,” he said. “I really can’t wait.

“I had sleepless nights about how it would all turn out, but the kids have just been great.”

The building work has required parts of the playground to be sealed off to pupils, with a breaktime rota implemented – but Ian has hailed the school’s response.

“The staff are looking forward to it and the students have been amazing considering there is so little space right now,” he said. “It’s actually been remarkably painless so far.”

The school won the funding because it was deemed one of the worst-kept in the country – but it is not only the new buildings causing excitement.

“We’re going to be getting a unit for autistic children, which is fantastic,” he said. “My sister-in-law has Asperger’s so this is an issue that is very close to my heart. And we’re also going to be getting a multi-use games area and a football pitch, so it will be really nice for the kids.”

Despite the expansion in pupils numbers, the school promises to work hard at keeping its personal touch.

“We really know the children here,” he said. “We have an approach that focusses on them as individuals – and we aren’t going to lose that because we’ve asked for smaller classrooms. As we expand we will bring in more staff, so pupils won’t be falling behind.

“I think we’re very lucky.”