Work on Welshpool’s Welsh speaking primary school is expected to start next year, but only once the new English language-led primary school is finished first on Salop Road playing fields.
Both projects have been beset by problems with the Welsh school facing early issues after an eleventh-hour listing bid to the former Maes-y-dre school building was approved.
It forced a complete rethink of the project and now Powys County Council says it is ready to present its new plans for the 150-place Ysgol Gymraeg y Trallwng which will be the first Passivhaus hybrid project in the UK incorporating community facilities.
The new school will be built on the former site of Ysgol Maesydre with the Grade II listed building (pictured), currently occupied by Welshpool Church in Wales Primary School, refurbished to accommodate early years and community facilities. A new extension will be built to include a new school hall and classroom bases.
It is anticipated that construction work will commence following the completion of the Welshpool Church in Wales Primary School project on Salop Road, thought to be in January 2021.
The school construction project is being funded by the Welsh Government 21st Century Schools Programme and is 50% funded by Powys County Council. The project is being delivered in partnership with Heart of Wales Property Services.
Cllr Phyl Davies, Cabinet Member for Education and Property, said: “These are exciting plans that will provide our learners with 21st Century facilities while preserving and modernising a Grade II listed building for the community of Welshpool to use.
“We have a strategy to transform education in Powys and the Ysgol Gymraeg Y Trallwng new build shows our commitment to deliver this important strategy. When complete, it will provide a learning environment that will allow learners and teaching staff to thrive and reach their potential through the medium of Welsh.”
Lindsey Phillips, Chair of Governors at Ysgol Gymraeg Y Trallwng, said: “Since the establishment of Ysgol Gymraeg Y Trallwng less than 3 years ago, significant progress in the development of Welsh education of standard has already been made, clearly evident in the school’s recent Estyn report. But as a Governing body, school and wider community, we are now very much looking forward to the next stage of development – for the building works for the school’s new location to commence.
“The exciting plans give us, not only a modern teaching facility, but also a wonderful resource for the wider community and a chance to celebrate and renew an important piece of local history.”
Angharad Davies, Headteacher of Ysgol Gymraeg Y Trallwng, said: “This is what is needed to develop Welsh Education and the Welsh Language even further in this area. This building will provide unique and valuable experiences to all associated with the school and Welshpool.
“The building will also give everybody access to a world of creativity and wonder in teaching and learning terms. The future is extremely bright.”