A NEW lecture theatre, 15 science labs and five new classrooms will be unveiled next month as part of huge £3mllion revamp of Dartford Grammar School for Boys.

The two-storey Stephenson block on the West Hill site will also include a new learning resource centre and additional offices for staff.

The works are part of a much bigger plan to allow the school to increase its intake up to 180 boys by September 2015.

This will see one extra class added to each year. By 2019 there will be 180 boys in each year group.

Boys living in Longfield, Greenhithe and New Barn and Southfleet will be treated the same as boys in the rest of the Dartford ward for the first time.

It is the biggest building project the school, which first opened in 1576, has undertaken since the Mick Jagger Centre opened in 2000.

Luigi Wiechula, who has been the school business manager for 13 years, said: "We are very excited about being able to deliver first class facilities to match the quality of the curriculum being taught at the school.

"I am looking forward to seeing the pupils enjoy the facilities.

"The project is one of the biggest we have ever done at the school and it will be great once it is all open and up and running."

Building work for the project, which is government funded, started in May last year and has provided an extra 1000sq m of new accommodation.

The new expansion will take the total number of pupils on role at the school up to 1470 including sixth form.

Dartford MP Gareth Johnson added: “I’m really pleased to see my old school expanding.

"This development will give more local children the opportunity of attending this excellent school. The expansion is a testament to the hard work of the whole leadership team at the school.”