Staff at Bishop’s Hatfield Girls’ School are rejoicing after they learned the Government has chosen their preferred contractor for a multi-million pound complete rebuild.

Welwyn Hatfield Times: Interserve Kajima's master plan for Bishop's Hatfield Girls' School.Interserve Kajima's master plan for Bishop's Hatfield Girls' School. (Image: Archant)

The Education Funding Agency (EFA), which has been considering three rival bids since October, announced the award of its contract to a consortium known as Interserve Kajima on Monday.

Provided a planning application likely in mid-May is successful, the consortium will start work on a new main building on the north side of the Woods Avenue site, and complete it in the summer of 2016.

As pupils move into the new building in September 2016, the current building will be demolished.

School business manager Debbie Daniel said: “We are absolutely delighted this company was chosen. We feel they are very sensitive to our needs.”

Bishop’s Hatfield, which is an academy independent of the county council, is one of seven schools in Hertfordshire, Luton and Berkshire that will be rebuilt by the consortium.

The EFA contract, which includes maintenance over 25 years, is worth between £100million and £150million.

Interserve Kajima plans a public exhibition of its proposals, provisionally arranged for Thursday, April 24.