Every pupil at a £40 million new school will be given a laptop or handheld computer.

Children will use the equipment to work on research projects after having lessons in "pod" classrooms built around an open central area.

Proposals for Bexhill High School, in Gunters Lane, Bexhill, show a clear ambition to take an innovative and futuristic approach to education.

Senior staff have set out an intention to help pupils become independent learners capable of adapting and shaping their own progress.

The majority of the funding for the project will come from the Government as part of its Building Schools For The Future programme. East Sussex County Council, which has drawn up the plans, will contribute £4 million.

Councillor Keith Glazier, lead member for children's and adults' services, said: "This is a really significant step in the process of delivering for Bexhill a fantastic 21st century school and community resource."

The building designs have no long corridors, a feature of the current school. Instead multi-purpose learning "zones" will be directly linked or pupils will cross the central hub area to move from one class to another.

The council said the plans had been drawn up after months of design work and consultation with pupils, parents and the community.

The school will be equipped with the latest technology and has been planned to have a carbon footprint significantly smaller than others built in recent years.

It will have extended hours and provide a wide range of academic and vocational courses. Coun Glazier said: "The design is innovative and really very exciting. Increasingly it is recognised the quality of the environment in which children learn makes a real difference to the way students approach learning and this plan reflects that."

The council said students would be helped and encouraged to research online.

It said the school's close relationships with community groups would continue and the buildings would become a local resource.

Public consultation on the application has started with a deadline for comments on August 8.

The plans can be viewed at www.eastsussex.gov.uk/environment/ planning/applications/register/ landing.html or at Bexhill Town Hall and County Hall in Lewes.

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