A bishop used a digger to break new ground to kick off work on a �5m school yesterday.

The Bishop of Thetford, the Rt Rev Dr Alan Winton, cut the turf at the site of the Little Plumstead Church of England School, and oversaw a short ceremony to mark the beginning of construction work.

The new 210-place building is on the former Broadland Hospital site, behind Little Plumstead Church, and is being built by Mansell.

The new school has been designed by architects Feilden and Mawson and will include seven classrooms, a library, hall and outdoor play area, catering for 40 more pupils than the current school. It is due to open in September 2011.

The Diocese secured government funding for the project and Norfolk County Council invested an extra �3.4m – half for the building project and half to develop infrastructure around the school following the collapse of property developers Cofton.

Norfolk County Council cabinet member for children's services Alison Thomas said: 'The new school will be a wonderful resource for Little Plumstead and the surrounding area and will help to ensure there are more school places available for children in the local area.'

Andy Mash, diocesan director of education, said: 'We are thrilled that the new school is now under way and feel especially privileged given the current economic climate.'

Thorpe St Andrew county councillor Ian Mackie said: 'The new school is essential in this growing community and I know that those living in the area will be pleased to see work getting under way.

'This has been a challenging project, not least because of the collapse of the property developers. The clock was ticking on the grant, and all the stops had to be pulled out order to keep this project on track.'

? North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb cut the ribbon to open a new extension at Horning Community Primary School yesterday.

The opening marked the culmination of years of planning and two terms of building work, and means the children at the school will no longer need to go outside in order to move between classrooms.

The �650,000 extension, funded by Norfolk County Council and the school itself, also includes the school's first dedicated staffroom.

Cutting the ribbon, Mr Lamb said: 'It's great to see the project completed and I know there is an enormous amount of work that has gone into getting to this point.'