BUILDERS have finally started work on Oxford's new secondary school, just months from its opening.

The Swan School is set to open in temporary buildings in September and construction started yesterday on the permanent site, in Marston Ferry Road, which will open to pupils in September 2020 at the earliest.

Oxford Mail:

What the school will look like. Pic: Galliford Try/ Infinite 3D

Construction vehicles rolled onto site outside The Harlow Centre and started to demolish a fence and part of the grass verge.

The team is making way for the school's controversial access road, which cuts across one of the city's busiest cycle paths.

READ AGAIN: Cyclists call for new underpass to avoid chaos outside Swan School

Despite the school's lengthy planning saga, which saw Oxford City Council pass the proposal in October after earlier refusal, it is already oversubscribed.

The River Learning Trust, which will run the school, received 257 applications for the founding year group, but there are just 120 spaces available.

READ AGAIN: Swan School approved at Oxford City Council planning meeting

Hopefuls will learn on Friday if they were successful, when secondary school places across Oxfordshire will be allocated.

The Swan School will eventually teach 1,260 pupils and will start life in temporary buildings at The Cherwell School's South Site, until the permanent building is ready.