WORK has started on a £1M expansion at a Worcester school for children with special needs.

Four new classrooms are set to be built at Regency High School, catering for up to an additional 40 pupils.

It is hoped the expansion will help meet an increasing demand for special need places in the county.

The project is due to be completed by August 2018.

Headteacher Sara Harding said: "At Regency High School we are delighted to finally be able to begin our expansion project in order to meet the demands for special needs places for children and young people across Worcester."

The Carnforth Drive school won £874,000 worth of funding from the government to build the new classrooms.

They will cost £972,000, with the school providing the extra money on top of the funding from the Education Funding Agency.

It has taken two years to reach this stage.

The school currently has 177 children on a roll, but it is thought it will reach its new 220 capacity within the three years following the build.