Where possible, feedback from students, staff and residents, who attended the meeting, will be incorporated into the plans before they are submitted for planning approval in April.

The exhibition at Upton Community Centre on Monday 6 February included a question and answer session and an animated movie that took visitors on a virtual 'fly-through' of the new buildings.

Some of the concerns raised included the layout of circulation spaces, the location of staircases, the layout of toilet facilities, classroom and office shapes, and the cladding materials being used. Further details are being worked out with the school to produce a final design.

The teaching block is planned for completion in the summer of 2008. The building is needed following a fire at the school in June 2000, which destroyed eight laboratories, a maths classroom, and the school hall. The school was already in the process of being redeveloped - the Manor House was refurbished in 1999 and the school hall was replaced as part of a new Creative Arts Block, completed in 2003.

The final building will provide a modern learning environment for science, maths and humanities including ten laboratories. Once completed, the school will have more than twice the teaching capacity than existed before the fire. The last phase of the rebuilding project will be to remove the temporary village and convert the land into much-needed, extra playing fields.

Director of Children's Services, Stephen Prewett, said:

"Submitting our plans will be a big step forward for the school. We are pleased with the response to the proposals and are now working on the final drawings for a planning application. We are working very closely with the school to get the best value we can out of the £11.9 million budget and provide an excellent final design."

The County Council member for Lytchett, Fred Drane, said:

"As local member and a governor of the school, I have been working very closely with both the school and Dorset County Council to achieve a plan that will give the staff and children the best building possible to accommodate their educational needs, that will pass planning constraints, and will be completed in 2008.

"I feel the plan is excellent for the children, who have been waiting for a long time and must be our main priority. The plans have been delivered on time and hopefully meet the school and public's aspirations, subject to the concerns they raised at the meeting."

Information is still on display at Lytchett Matravers, Upton, and Wareham libraries. Plans and the animated 'fly-through' can also be viewed by following the links on the right.