The former Sunnydale School in Shildon is set to close for good later this year as leaders agreed on basing a "21st Century education experience" in a neighbouring town.
The site will be closed on August 31 then demolished, with a new Greenfield Community College to be built in Newton Aycliffe.
Some £22m of council money will go into the project, Durham County Council's cabinet heard.
Leaders agreed to close the Sunnydale and rebuild the Newton Aycliffe site for 800 pupils in a building "suitable for 21st Century education".
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The Greenfield Community College's pupils, previously split between the two sites, will be based on the Aycliffe site.
All pupils have been taught there since the Sunnydale site was temporarily closed due to health and safety concerns in January 2020.
The shake-up has been controversial, with opponents saying the loss of Shildon's only secondary school would harm a town already "overlooked" with a lack of development.
Jim Murray, the council's head of education and skills, said there had been 1,127 responses to consultation, with 59% supporting the proposal, 32.5% opposing.
"Those against the proposal do so on the basis of the need for Shildon to have its own secondary school," he told the cabinet meeting on Wednesday (April 6).
"Those supporting the proposal cite new opportunities to enrich the curriculum and provide a 21st Century education experience for all children in nearby communities."
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Council officers recommended the closure of Sunnydale and rebuild of the Newton Aycliffe site as the "best future option" amid declining pupil numbers and growing financial pressures.
Councillor Paul Sexton, cabinet member for adult and health services, said there was a "compelling" case for the closure amid concerns about standards, with Ofsted inspectors arguing the split site was delaying education improvement.
He said: "I appreciate that school reorganisation, particularly school closures, are very difficult matters on which to gain agreement.
"The decline of Sunnydale site has taken place over many years now and parents and carers have looked to other schools in search of a better learning environment for the children.
"The school roll has more than halved in this time.
"All of the children deserve the very best learning conditions that we can provide.
"And this decision provides an exciting new opportunity to rebuild that school that will benefit the pupils in this area."
He said the level of support was unusual "given the emotive nature of the proposal to close a school building".
Cllr Richard Bell, deputy council leader and cabinet member for finance, said: "For the first time I can recall the feedback has been more in support of the closure of a school than against it.
"This proposal provides a solution to the issues currently being faced by Greenfield Community College.
"This will help to make the school sustainable for the long term.
"And educationally it is in the best interests of children and their families.
"This will ensure that children attending the Greenfield school in the future do so in an environment that is conducive to attaining good educational incomes.
"£22m will be allocated from council resources to support this vision.
"We have sufficient capital contingencies to accommodate the first phase of development of the Greenfield site, which is £10.7m, and to accommodate the demolition of the buildings at Shildon, £1.3m."
He said leisure and community facilities would be kept after the school buildings' closure and demolition.
The cabinet agreed to follow the recommendation on the closure and rebuild.
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Peter Bergg, chair of the Aycliffe and Shildon Schools Trust (ASSET), said: "This represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to give our students and their families the modern facilities and investment they deserve.”
Greenfield headteacher David Priestley said: "Generations of children have thrived from experiencing the unique approach of this small family-based school.
"Their stories are caught up in our old buildings and, although these will be demolished, this is to allow us to offer a state-of-the-art facility to support many more amazing life stories in the future.”
As numbers of families applying for places at Greenfield increased, Mr Priestley said: "It is always good to be popular and we will always try to welcome all those who want to work with us, but Greenfield has always been and will remain a small school where everyone is known."
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