Willmott Dixon has won a £20m Building Schools for the Future (BSF) pathfinder contract for a community college in Surrey.

The company will replace 50-year-old accommodation for Chessington Community College in Kingston upon Thames. Work has begun, with completion expected for April 2009.

The school will house 1,000 pupils aged 11-18. Architect IID has produced the designs, which feature a central atrium, a multi-use games area, a 150-seat theatre and a dance studio.

BSF pathfinder projects act as forerunners to larger-scale schemes to provide guidance and lessons.

Willmott Dixon is also part of a consortium that has been appointed by the BRE to build a zero-carbon mini-school as a model for future education projects.

The contractor is working with architect White Design and engineer Max Fordham on the project, to be showcased at the BRE off-site exhibition in June.