Preferred location of a new Welsh medium school in Merthyr revealed
Cabinet members have given their backing for a new build on the Goetre Primary School site
(Image: Google )
The preferred location of a new Welsh medium school in Merthyr Tydfil has received the backing of council cabinet members
A report approved by the council's cabinet on Wednesday, July 9, says the preferred way forward for the permanent siting of the new Welsh-medium seedling school is a new-build school on the current Goetre Primary site for 210 pupils and it also includes a temporary solution to use the St Aloysius campus, once it is vacated, from September, 2027, until the new building is ready.
The local authority has been set a target by Welsh Government to increase the number of learners accessing Welsh-medium education in year one of primary education to between 22% and 26% of the total year one cohort by 2031.
In January, 2020, there were 100 year one pupils attending Welsh-medium schools, which was around 14% of the total cohort of pupils in year one.
To meet the Welsh Government target, based on current pupil projections, it is estimated that between 144 and 170 pupils will need to be in year one Welsh-medium primary education by January, 2031, the cabinet report said.
There are currently two longstanding Welsh-medium primary schools within Merthyr Tydfil which are Ysgol Gymraeg Santes Tudful serving the north and centre of the borough and Ysgol Gymraeg Rhyd Y Grug serving the south of the borough.
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The report said officers had undertaken extensive work to identify the most suitable permanent location for the third Welsh-medium seedling school to fulfil the ambition to increase the number of children educated through the medium of Welsh.
There were three school sites identified as viable options and consideration has been given to proximity to the cylch meithrin in Gurnos, cost, and achievability of each option.
In total, five options were shortlisted which included refurbishing St Aloysius primary campus for 210 pupils plus nursery, refurbishing St Illtyd's primary campus for 210 pupils plus nursery, refurbishing Goetre Primary School for 210 pupils, a new-build primary on the Goetre Primary School site for 210 pupils plus nursery, and a new-build primary on the Goetre Primary School site for 420 pupils plus nursery. To get all the latest Merthyr Tydfil news straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.
Following evaluation of the options, the preferred option is the fourth option which is for a new-build 210-place school on the current Goetre Primary site.
The reason given is that it provides 'sufficient pupil places to meet the WESP targets, without creating unnecessary surplus places, in a building designed to Building Bulletin Guidance with optimal condition and sufficiency'.
This option also retains the potential for further development to a 420-place school at some time in the future if the demand for places supports a larger school being built, the report said.
The report added that it was likely that completion of a new school building for the seedling school would be September, 2032, at the earliest so an interim solution for the Welsh medium seedling school is needed to ensure that the school can accommodate the projected growth in pupil numbers until at least 2032.
Three options were considered for this and the option to refurbish St Aloysius primary campus by 2027 to improve the teaching and learning environment is the preferred option.
It was deemed to provide best value for money as it provides sufficient building and site space for 160 pupils and would result in improved condition following a light refurbishment.
The anticipated cost for the new-build Welsh medium seedling school is £12.35m with £8.25m coming from Welsh Government and £4.1m from the council.
The Welsh Government has approved £3.2m towards refurbishing St Aloysius and for improvement works to Safle'r Gurnos, a satellite of Ysgol Santes Tudful.
Cabinet member for education, Councillor Gareth Lewis, said it was not just about new infrastructure but is a clear demonstration of the commitment to the Welsh language.
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He said it gave families a better choice and gave children the opportunity to learn through the medium of Welsh.
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