A first glimpse has been produced of how a special school will look after a £3.5 million redevelopment. Work will start on Sunfield School in Clent this summer.

It follows a campaign that has raised £1.5 million and involved celebrity patrons Jasper Carrott, Adrian Chiles and Josie Lawrence. The school caters for children suffering severe and complex learning difficulties including autism.

It is still some £2 million short of its £3.5 million target to complete all the work.

Actress Josie, currently playing a leading role in Tom Stoppard’s thriller Hapgood at the Birmingham Rep, has agreed to help by hosting a VIP reception at the theatre to raise funds for the school.

Sunfield chief executive Professor Barry Carpenter said research had shown the traditional classroom environment was not suitable for children with profound autism.

He said: “Our plans for the new school buildings include state of the art classroom facilities with suites of teaching spaces for small groups of children and individual workstations for each child.

“Work will start on the new school this summer.”

Professor Carpenter said Sunfield had no government funding for improvements or development because of its status as a charity.

“The challenge of raising £3.5 million for the new school is in our hands and we still need to raise more than £2 million to reach our target,” he said.

“We are delighted that Josie and the Birmingham Rep are hosting this VIP reception for us – it’s a great way to spread the word about our groundbreaking work here at Sunfield.”

Tickets for the reception, to be held on April 21, are £50 each and include pre-show champagne and buffet, a ticket for Hapgood, complimentary programme and the opportunity to have drinks with Josie and the rest of the cast after the show.

The actress is hoping to get 150 people along and raise nearly £10,000.

To book tickets email sunfield@sunfield.org.uk or call the appeals department on 01562 882253.