Work will begin next summer on radical plans to demolish part of a Victorian school building and replace it with a modernist glass extension.

South Hampstead High School in Maresfield Gardens, Hampstead, expects the multi-storey translucent building - designed by the architects behind the Olympic velodrome - to be open by 2014.

Headteacher Jenny Stephen said: “We are tremendously excited about the redevelopment. Not only will it create stunning buildings that will be a joy in which to learn and teach, but it will make us one of the greenest schools in the country.

“The new facilities will also give us the opportunity to strengthen and expand some of our existing partnerships with local schools in the community.”

Many students will be temporarily moved to classrooms on the school’s sports ground while the building is constructed.

The school has been working on the plans for more than a decade and they were approved by Camden Council in January.