Latest decision due on major Cardiff schools projects
The council will consider recommendations to proceed with a multimillion pound investment to provide extra school places across Cardiff when the city’s Cabinet meets on Thursday.
The recommendations mark the latest steps in the process to create new school facilities serving areas in and around Butetown, Caerau, Canton, Ely, Grangetown, Llandaff North and Riverside.
The schemes contained in three separate reports represent investment of over £50m in a combination of schemes, ranging from newly-built schools to expanding existing sites, primary education to secondary education, Welsh-medium learning to English-medium learning.
Commenting on the proposals, Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr Sarah Merry said: “Through our 21st Century Schools Programme we will invest over £164m with the Welsh Government. These latest proposals represent investment of more than £50m in education for a significant number of communities in the city, including the most deprived areas in Cardiff.
“Delivering better education and skills for all is one of the four stated priorities for the council. These projects have been designed to meet the projected rise in demand for school places in these areas to ensure that we provide the standard of education the children and young people of Cardiff deserve.
“Together, these improvement schemes will provide a significant number of extra school places for the city. We will see a brand new secondary school in the west of the city, plus new and improved primary schools across Cardiff’s southern arc.
“The new schools will be delivered to an extremely high standard. This is well illustrated in the ‘fly-through’ video showing how the brand new Eastern High shared learning campus will look, an innovative £25m partnership project with Cardiff and Vale College.”
The Cabinet reports being discussed on Thursday also include objections raised in response to the publication of the statutory notices.
Councillor Merry added: “Officers have considered the concerns raised by stakeholders and outlined the council’s plans to address them. This is a significant milestone to deliver these school improvement projects and, moving forward each of the proposed schemes would be subject to the planning process.”
Extensive public consultation has been undertaken by the council and the results were used to shape the recommendations in the December Cabinet Reports.
The schemes in detail
Butetown, Canton, Grangetown and Riverside
- Increase the capacity of Ninian Park Primary School Primary School from 2FE to 3FE with additional part-time nursery places serving the age range 3-11 on its existing site from September 2017
- Establish a new 2 FE Welsh-medium primary school with nursery on the Hamadryad site located adjacent to the Hamadryad playing fields off Hamadryad Road, Cardiff. The School is to open initially at 1FE only in temporary accommodation adjacent to the Ninian Park Primary School site in the accommodation formerly occupied by Ysgol Tan yr Eos on Virgil Street, Cardiff from September 2016 and transfer to its permanent site adjacent to Hamadryad Park from September 2017
Caerau and Ely
- Close Glyn Derw High School and Michaelston Community College (the Glyn Derw and Michaelston Federation) from 31 August 2017
- Establish a new replacement 11-18 community high school to serve the Caerau and Ely areas from 01 September 2017
- To transfer the newly established high school to new build premises on the current Glyn Derw High School site from September 2018
Llandaff North
- Consolidate Gabalfa Primary School at 1FE with 48 part-time nursery places from September 2017
- Permanently establish Ysgol Glan Ceubal on its existing site at Colwill Road, Gabalfa at 1FE from September 2016
- Extend the age range of Ysgol Glan Ceubal from 4-11 to 3-11 from September 2016
Cabinet will meet on Thursday 10th March to discuss the recommendations to proceed. The full reports are available online from the council’s website at www.cardiff.gov.uk/meetings.
Notes to Editor
The 21st Century Schools Programme is a collaboration between Welsh Government and local authorities in Wales to create the right schools in the right places
The main priorities of the investment programme are to:
- Match the supply of with demand for places
- Invest in new schools and refurbish existing schools
- Meet demand for education in both English and Welsh
- Create a nursery provision on primary school sites
The City of Cardiff Council’s realigned 21st Century Schools Programme was announced in March 2015 and totals £164.1m.
The four City of Cardiff Council Priorities as stated in the Corporate Plan 2016-17 are:
- Better education and skills for all
- Supporting vulnerable people
- Working together to transform services
- Creating more jobs and better paid jobs
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