Manchester is aiming to become a centre of excellence for children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) with the creation of a purpose built school and training centre. Grange school, currently located on Dickenson Road in Rusholme, will move to brand new facilities on Mount Road in Gorton. The new £14m school, will increase the current roll of pupils aged 4 to 19 from 80 to 150, and will also offer 10 long term residential places and 10 short break places - a first for Manchester. There will be 55 primary places, 70 secondary and 25 sixth formers, with discreet facilities within the school to cater for higher ability pupils as well as pupils with more severe autism and learning needs. The school will incorporate conference, training and specialist therapy facilities for use by all professionals within the autistic community. Specialist outreach teams will be based at Grange and will work with other schools across the city to support children with additional needs. Work will begin on the site of the new school in June and it is expected to open in January 2012. The site was formerly occupied by Cedar Mount High School which moved to purpose built premises nearby in 2008. The new school has been designed specifically to meet and be sensitive to the needs of children with ASD and has included extensive consultation with both parents, teachers and designers experienced in the ASD field, along with visits to other purpose built schools across the country. The school includes a number of features appropriate for children with ASD such as a clear ordered design, non-reflective surfaces, non-flickering lights, good acoustic control, clear zoning of areas with obvious pointers as to what activities take place in particular areas, tactile experiences, natural daylight and spaces that encourage children to make choices about playing and communicating with others. Grange headteacher, Andrew Smith, says: "The new school is really exciting and will enable us to offer a specialist education to even more children. It will also allow teachers working with children with ASD in mainstream schools across Manchester to use Grange as a central point for advice, information and support." The school will become a hub of the community with out of hours use of facilities, including a sports hall and soft play area. Other features of the new school include an allotment, a woodland area, sensory rooms, water features, and a multi use games area. The school will also recreate a real dental and GP surgery within their medical room to help the children cope with medical appointments outside school. Councillor Sheila Newman, Manchester City Council Executive Member for Children's Services, says: "The expansion and rebuild of Grange is part of the city council's radical programme and vision to completely transform the way children learn both in mainstream and SEN schools. "The new school is designed with the needs of children with ASD at the heart of the design. It will be a truly groundbreaking and inspiring school." Grange is part of Manchester's Building Schools for the Future and Academies programme, one of the largest in the country, with a total investment of more than £500 million. Plans of the new Grange school will be on display at Gorton Library on Garratt Way until Friday, 12th February. There will also be comment sheets available for local residents to leave any thoughts they may have about the project.