The support service and construction group, Interserve, has begun work on the £1.6m refurbishment of grade two-listed Langley Hall, near Slough in Berkshire, which will become the Langley Hall Primary Academy free school.

The new school is already oversubscribed for entry classes this year, with a waiting list for 2012. There is an estimated 312-place shortage of primary slots in Langley and Slough.