A nursery is to be named after pioneering social reformer Mary Lily Walker.
The £1 million development by Dundee High School at Mayfield, off Arbroath Road, will open next August.
Walker was instrumental in highlighting the terrible conditions in which working class Dundee families lived and she set up health services to aid women and children.
Forgotten details of her past were recovered for a celebration of the centenary of her death this year by Dundee University’s Dr Suzanne Zeedyk, who was invited to watch the first sod being cut on the site.
She said: “Mary Lily Walker would never have dreamed this was possible. In her day, two in five children died before the age of one.
“It was the research project that uncovered the fact that she was a former pupil and it’s amazing that the high school has wanted to mark that.”
The nursery will take up to 64 children and will enable the school to offer a seamless education all the way from three to 18. Children will also benefit from specialist music and PE teaching.
Dundee High rector Dr John Halliday said: “Early years education is absolutely crucial in a child’s development. We hope to provide a pre-school education that is second to none in the Tayside area.
“The importance of the early years for social, personal, intellectual, physical and spiritual development is well documented. We need to provide a nurturing, caring, warm environment in which children can thrive.
“Linking the nursery to the inspirational memory of Mary Lily Walker is a wonderful way of reminding us of the extraordinary work she did to address the appalling conditions most mothers and infants had to endure at that time, while at the same time also challenging us to keep on improving what we do.”
The nursery is being built next to the school’s sports facilities, including its extensive playing fields. Dr Halliday said the school had been considering the development for several years but wanted to find the right site.