Cardiff Council draws up ambitious multi-million pound school plan for the city

Cardiff Council is drawing-up plans for the next phase of its multi-million pound investment in the city’s schools.The council’s current round of investment, match-funded by Welsh Government through the 21st Century Schools Programme, is due to be completed by 2019. Planning is underway to pump additional multi-million pound funds into Cardiff schools, in a second phase of investment that will run until 2024.Under the current 21st Century Schools Programme, which is known as ‘Band A’, Cardiff Council has invested £164m in building new schools, and expanding and improving existing schools since 2014.Projects funded byBand Ainclude building two new secondary schools – Eastern High school and Cardiff West Community High School – and six new primary schools – Howardian, Gabalfa, Pontprennau, Ysgol Glan Ceubal, Ysgol Glan Morfa and Ysgol Hamadryad.Initial proposals for the next round of investment -Band B- are included in a report being discussed at a Cardiff Council Cabinet meeting on October 12. The report includes a recommendation to request match-funding from Welsh Government in order for the local authority to:Build three new secondary schools.Invest in additional English-medium secondary school provision in central Cardiff.Expand and improve the condition of special education provision at both primary and secondary school level.Increase Welsh-medium primary school provision in the eastern and western areas of Cardiff.Increase English-medium primary school provision for Cardiff Bay and the west of the city.