£7.8m School Project for Morgan Sindall Construction

Morgan Sindall Construction has won a £7.8m contract to add a new primary and nursery school at the site of a Welsh-medium comprehensive school in Pontypool.Located on Folly Road in Trevethin, Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw is currently home to 977 pupils aged 11-18. Once complete, the new build will provide spaces for 210 primary-school students, as well as nursery facilities for 30 full-time equivalent three- and four-year olds.Torfaen Borough County Council has commissioned the new build as a way to increase the number of Welsh-speaking primary schools available in Pontypool. Initially, the school will open as a ‘seedling school’, with a nursery and reception class only and then growing each year.Funding for the scheme has come entirely from the Welsh Government, as part of their 21st Century Schools and Colleges Programme. In 2016, the Welsh Government unveiled plans to achieve one million Welsh-language speakers by 2050.Plans for the main building outline a two-storey building with nine general purpose classrooms. Outside will be an multi-use games area court for physical activity, as well as a wildlife habitat area for learning, an informal play area and amenity grass areas. There will also be a car park with 34 standard spaces and seven for disabled-use.The project is targeting a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating for sustainability and will have a green roof with layers of vegetation to act as a natural insulation method and enable a sustainable drainage design. This will be complemented by a ‘rain garden’; a depression in the ground that is then filled with plants and wildlife to help with water filtration.Construction is planned to complete on the project in March 2022.