A lap-top for all at the new Bexhill High

They were seeking a glimpse into the future.

For most, it was a glimpse into an exciting future as plans for the 37m new Bexhill High were explained.

With its "green" credentials, its plans for every pupil to work via their own laptop computer carried from lesson to lesson, its "no-homework" 8.30am-5pm working day and its dedicated Skills Centre, there was plenty of innovative ideas for visitors to absorb.

As visitors moved from exhibition stand to exhibition stand at the first of two public consultation sessions, there were questions aplenty for county council project manager Matthew Eades, school principal Mike Conn, chairman of governors Cllr Brian Kentfield and county cabinet lead member Cllr Keith Glazier.

But some questions must for the moment go unanswered.

Like:

*What how much of the present Down site will remain after the creation of the Skills Centre in the grounds of the old school?

*What productive use will be made of the remainder of the site?

*Will long-term plans for King Offa Primary School to move from its century-old buildings at the Down to a purpose-built school at Gunters Lane ever come to fruition?

The future of King Offa will now form part of a review of primary school provision in the town.

For the moment, attention is on the architects' ambitious drawings of the new High.

Cllr Kentfield summed up his reaction to plans for the new High in one word.

"Fantastic!"

He told the Observer: "It is a very exciting project. It is so rewarding that staff are behind it.

"I hope the whole community gets behind it so we achieve a really high-quality educational establishment for Bexhill and the surrounding area.

"I really hope that the school hit's the national educational headlines."

Among aspects about which the school principal is enthusing is a dedicated zone for young people with autism.

The department would have its own outdoor terrace but pupils would be able to integrate into the life of the school.

The art zone has been designed to make the most of available natural light.

In the science and technology zone, pupils' experiments would be filmed by webcam and the results downloaded into their individual laptops to form part of the ICT bank of the schoolwork.

Mr Conn said: "The library will be a virtual library - pupils will be able to choose books online. They will be able to browse the online library. The books will be delivered to them."

Summing up his reaction to the plans now fast taking shape, Mr Conn said: "It is what I have always dreamt of - to be able to say to someone 'This is a learning journey. This is what you need and we are here to help you.'"

The Skills Centre, where those pupils who aptitudes are for the practical rather than the academic could take apprenticeships, would, he said, be available not just to the High but to St Richard's Catholic College and Bexhill College students.

"Denticulate" is the term planners have coined to describe the tooth-like shape of the individual learning areas that will be created at Gunters Lane.

Advantage has been taken to orientate the building on the solar path to make it thermally-efficient.

Under-floor heating will complement a ventilation system designed to make the building both comfortable and thermally-efficient, said Paul Eslinger, of consultants White, Young, Green.

Use of advanced EFTE roofing material - as used on the Eden Project - would add to the green credentials of a building which will have a biomass central heating system fired by carbon-neutral and sustainable wood chip fuel.

Though some photo-voltaic cells would be incorporated in the design, he said the contribution they would make would be primarily educational.