The Secretary of State for Education Ruth Kelly was shown the new Ashburton Learning Village when she visited Croydon last week.

In a matter of weeks the £25million village in Shirley Road is set to become the home of Ashburton Community School, Croydon Music Service, Ashburton library, mobile library for the housebound service and the Continuing Education and Training Service (CETS).

And to mark the completion of the construction work, the education minister helped to re-lay the foundation stone taken from the original school.

"I think the village will be fantastic," Ms Kelly said. "It benefits both the pupils and the community. It is something for them to enjoy and get involved in and get the parents really engaged."

The three-storey, 1,200-pupil school will boast a dance studio, all-weather sports pitches, a recording studio and library. A range of adult education classes will also be held there.

And the facilities will also be open to the community after school hours, at weekends and during school holidays with the gym expected to open daily.

Headteacher Richard Warne said: "Getting a brand new school is something most heads and teachers only dream about. The learning village will have a profound impact on so many people in this area.

"Our pupils deserve some decent facilities. It really is a lovely place to be."

Work on the building began in 2004. Environmentally friendly features, including the largest solar panels to be installed in a UK building, are featured throughout to comply with Croydon Council's requirement that new building projects produce at least 10 per cent of their energy from renewable resources.

Architect Greg Penoyre said: "Ashburton has been a very exciting project for all of us. We hope that the sustainability messages here will come through to the pupils."

Initial backing for the building came from the then Department for Education and Employment through a private finance initiative.