Hundreds of people are being given a chance to watch the step-by-step progress of a new Information Technology suite being developed at Salt Grammar School.

The 26-classroom development at the Baildon school is being built by York-based Yorkon.

The company is allowing teachers, pupils and parents a chance to watch the building work as it progresses. A camera positioned opposite the development site takes images of the construction work as it progresses every two hours. The pictures are then downloaded on to the Internet giving desk-top access to the building site from anywhere in the world.

The Salt Grammar School webcam pages are designed to give people immediate access to progress on site, in a user-friendly format. The site can be accessed on www.yorkon/saltwebcam

The new building will provide a further IT facility for the school, bringing the total number of dedicated IT suites to five. The school is pioneering a number of information technology developments in the education sector, including video conferencing, intranet establishment and internet safety.

"The website initiative is a wonderful example of business and education working together to the benefit of pupils", said Milan Davidovic, the school's deputy head.

"The project combines an exciting milestone in the history of the school with the power of the Internet to help children better understand the construction process. The new development is a major investment in the school using highly innovative construction methods, which we think will be of interest locally and nationally."

Features of the new website include a summary of the construction project, picture archive, an artist's impression of the new building, and the facility to request further information on Yorkon's pioneering modular building system.

Much of the building work is taking place off-site at Yorkon's 60-acre production facility in York, reducing the programme time by more than 50 per cent .