Plans for Monmouth's new secondary school have been unveiled as part of an £80million investment in the county's education system. The early designs, drawn up by architects working closely with staff and pupils at Monmouth Comprehensive, feature open spaces, improved parking and 'hubs' to encourage independent learning. A planning application is likely to be submitted in August, with work starting in January 2015 and expected to be complete by the end of 2016. The rebuild will run alongside a similar development at Caldicot School, while work on Raglan's new primary school gets underway next month. The three projects form the next phase of Monmouthshire's 21st Century Schools programme – a series of capital investments part-funded by the Welsh Government. Monmouth's share of the pot – which amounts to £36.9million – will mostly be used to fund the new secondary school, although there will be funds made available to the primaries which feed into it. Architect Simon Kneafsey said all 1,647 pupils at the school had been part of the engagement process, as had every member of staff. "We have tried to use the existing sports facilities so creating a community asset," he said. "Monmouth has a number of squares and piazzas so we are creating another one for the school, creating a sense of entrance. "Traditional materials will be used but in a modern way, giving an international feel to the buildings, and rather than being about corridors this is about using balconies and opening up. "It is going to be the type of mature learning setting you get in workplaces and in higher and further education." Mr Kneafsey said that while Caldicot School would be a "fairly easy build", Monmouth would present more challenges in terms of 'decanting' pupils from one building to another while construction work is going on. "We will try to avoid using temporary buildings where possible as this is dead money," he said. Staff parking will be moved to the bus bay off New Dixton Road with the aim of easing the traffic congestion that builds up on the Old Dixton Road and freeing up parking spaces for the leisure centre. "Pupils want to cycle to school but that last 500metres up to the school is the problem," said Mr Kneafsey. He added that the council's construction partner Interserve was looking to use a local workforce where possible and would be holding open days for local contractors. The first public engagements took place at the school last week and these will continue for the next couple of months. Liz Hacket Pain, Monmouthshire's cabinet member for education, said: "If you have the right environment to learn in, children will do better. "We are looking at each child as an individual and these designs allow children to learn in different ways. "This is part of a 12-year programme and is happening because the Welsh Government changed the way funding comes to us – we have already invested heavily in our primary schools but there is no way we would be able to afford to do a secondary school otherwise." She said the headteachers of Chepstow School and King Henry VIII in Abergavenny were being involved in the process as the next round of investment in 2017 will focus on those two schools. Sarah McGuinness, the county council's chief officer for education, said she was excited about the designs. "This is a wonderful opportunity but we are mindful that this is public money and we want to spend it very wisely," she said.