Last updated 12:00, Thursday, 06 November 2008

This is the first sight of how Carlisle’s £30m central academy could look.

Artist's impressions of the Richard Rose Central Academy

• Slideshow: artist impressions of Carlisle's central academy
• Video: 3D virtual tour of Central academy

It is the vision of an iconic school building that will eventually house 1,500 students.

Pupils and staff will get their first glimpse of the 3D designs at an event this afternoon.

Joint sponsor Brian Scowcroft will be unveiling the ideas and informing them of what happens next.

Mr Scowcroft will be joined by Peter Noble, chief executive of the Richard Rose Federation, and representatives from Keir Construction, the firm named on Tuesday as the preferred contractor to build the new school.

The designs show a three-storey building with a plaza-style entrance. Images of the innovative interior show a large atrium that could play host to a range of uses including a gathering space or hall.

A virtual tour around the designs also shows classrooms with moving partitions that allow new smaller learning areas to be created. The Richard Rose Central Academy is operating on the site of the former North Cumbria Technology College in Harraby while the St Aidan’s School site in the city centre is transformed.

A planning application will be considered in due course and the former St Aidan’s School will need to be demolished. It is hoped construction work can start at Lismore Place next spring with a target completion date of September 1, 2010.

Keir Construction was named earlier this week by Cumbria County Council as the preferred contractor to build Carlisle’s two new academy schools, a new building for the West Lakes Academy in Egremont and a fourth school, probably in Barrow.

They were chosen following an in-depth tendering process involving six contenders.

Construction of the Morton academy and the West Lakes Academy in Egremont will begin in the summer of 2009 aiming for completion by September 2011.