Work has begun on Deer Park School at its future home in East Twickenham.

The primary school is part of a mixed development in Richmond Road, which includes a Lidl supermarket.

Deer Park School, a free school which opened at a temporary site at Richmond Adult Community College in September 2015, will be open at the new premises from the 2019/20 academic year.

The two-from entry school will occupy the first and second floor, above the Lidl on the ground floor.

The school, which will include a large dining hall, dedicated library and a specialist classroom for design and technology, will have a capacity of 420 pupils by 2024.

Along with an on-site playground and a multi-use games area for football, netball, basketball and hockey, Deer Park School will make arrangements for offsite sporting activities.

Alison Colenso, headteacher at Deer Park School, said: “I am delighted that work has commenced on the school’s permanent home.

“Deer Park School opened in September 2015 in temporary accommodation and the school has grown 6-fold within that time.

“The Ryde House site will ensure that there is a ‘local school for local children’ for decades to come and we are all incredibly excited about the school’s future.”

The school comes as a result of “lengthy negotiations” between the Education Funding Agency (EFA) and Ryde House’s owners, Lidl, and a number of direct interventions by Richmond Council.

Councillor Susan Chappell, Richmond Council cabinet member for schools, said: “There has been high demand for a new primary school in East Twickenham for many years.

“However, it was always going to be a challenge to identify somewhere suitable and I am pleased that the council were able to identify this site and designate it for educational use.

“I would like to thank Lidl for their willingness to come to an arrangement, which is the best possible outcome for the local community and ensure that parents in East Twickenham will be able to send their children to a local primary school.

“Richmond upon Thames has the highest achieving primary schools in the country and they continue to be in great demand.

“However, I am confident that Deer Park will flourish on this site and become an integral part of the local community.

“This exciting mixed development is a national first for Lidl and a first for the borough, and I’m sure that this innovative solution will be replicated elsewhere in coming years, as sites for new schools become ever scarcer.”