A major rebuilding programme for 10 Kent secondary schools is to get under way after Kent County Council signed a £600million contract that will eventually see every single secondary school either rebuilt or redeveloped.

The 10 schools listed here will be the first in the county to benefit from the Government’s flagship rebuilding programme, known as Building Schools for the Future (BSF).

KCC has now formally signed a contract with the consortium appointed to take charge of the the schools’ redevelopment.

The initiative is expected to cost £1.8billion and represents what is thought to be the largest school building programme in Europe.

The contractor is a partnership of Land Securities Trillium and Northgate Education.

County education chiefs hailed the contract as a milestone for the authority and said it represented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Cllr Mark Dance (Con), cabinet member for education operations, said: "This is an enormously exciting time. The signing of this contract marks an historic day for education in Kent.

"The programme will see radical transformation of school buildings in the county. State-of-the-art technology, fantastic learning and teaching environments and unrivalled community facilities will have a huge impact on generations to come."

Tim Byles, the chief executive of Partnerships for Schools, the Government agency responsible for delivering the BSF programme, said: "This marks an important milestone not just for Kent, but for the national programme.

"At its heart, BSF is about transforming education and improving the life chances for all young people."