This is how the first medical school in Sussex will look when it is finished this summer.

Mayfield House, which cost £8.5 million, will form part of the Brighton and Sussex medical school complex at Falmer.

The whole development, which is costing £28 million, is nearing completion and the first 128 students are due to arrive in September to begin a five-year course.

Almost 1,000 students from across the UK applied for the places to learn to become a doctor at the school.

During its construction, Professor Jon Cohen, the dean of the new school, said: "We think the combination of the brand new school coupled with the location makes it a very attractive proposition for many students.

"There will be a substantial number of new consultants coming in. They will be young, interested in teaching and more academic.

"They will have their own ideas and help bring in new approaches to treatment and research.

"With such an emphasis on teaching, this will hopefully lead to a ripple effect throughout the health community."

The school is a joint venture between the universities of Sussex and Brighton.

Students will undertake placements in the community and at various NHS hospitals throughout the region.

The Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton will be the main teaching hospital.

The 5,500sqm, three-storey building contains a lecture theatre, performance studio, computer room, communications rooms and an operating theatre simulation suite.

Prof Cohen, formerly head of the department of infectious diseases and microbiology at the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London, said: "We have a full list of students who have made Sussex their first choice.

"The curriculum is now ready to go and we had a visit from the General Medical Council, which was very pleased with our progress.

"Everyone is very enthusiastic and looking forward to the students coming.

"We are beginning to develop clear research themes and one of those, which we are very excited about, is research focussing around care for the elderly.

"The buildings are now nearing completion. The Sussex site is finished and the Brighton site will open at the beginning of September.

"Although it will be five years before the first students emerge, the positive effect on people living locally will be much sooner."