Construction work has started on a £1.3m scheme to extend the Carwyn James Building at Aberystwyth University, which houses the institution's sports and exercise studies department.

Eight new teaching and research laboratories will be created in addition to the ten existing facilities as part of the extension project, which is expected to be completed by summer 2010. A new two-lane, 400m performance-standard athletics track will also be installed around the all-weather sports pitch to replace the existing single lane tarmac track adjacent to the university's sports centre.

The Department of Sports and Exercise Science (DSES) has invested £750,000 to provide a new DXA scanner, which will measure body fat, muscle and bone density as part of health research, and a motion-capture system to assist with biomechanical sports research. DSES head Professor David Lavallee said: "These developments reflect the growth the department has experienced over the past eight years. The new facilities are about enhancing our research and giving students more practical experience.

"Increasingly, many sports science departments are focusing more on theoretical aspects and less on practical work. Here the focus is more on learning by working in laboratories, a feature we believe accounts for the very high student satisfaction ratings we consistently achieve."