Māruawai College celebrated the first official dig at its new classroom site last week.

It is a part of the major renovations of the school, which this year celebrated the opening of a new $1.4 million all-weather sports canopy. 

The build, set to be finished in June next year, will have two food rooms, full laboratories for students, an art space, and a dedicated agriculture room for students and faculty. 

Principal Mel Hamilton said stage one would be a major boon for the school.

"It’s pretty momentous. It’s been a long time waiting for this,” she said.

The school has several construction projects on the go, including combining the junior and senior campuses on one site.

The combined cost of the projects is estimated to be about $4m, including the demolition work, coming from the school’s property funding cost allocation and Ministry of Education funding.