Major Changes to Newport Schools in New Academic Year

The new academic year will bring major changes to several of Newport’s schools, as the city council strives to meet the demand for more places.
The city has the fastest growing population in Wales, according to the last census, and also has the highest percentage of residents under the age of 16.
When pupils return to school next week, some will have lessons in new classrooms, while for others the move into replacement facilities will happen later in the academic year.
Council deputy leader, Cllr Deb Davies, said the investments will “provide excellent learning environments” for the city’s young people, but also conceded building work and relocations had proved “difficult” at some schools.
At Bassaleg School, pupils will return from their summer holidays to find a new teaching block awaiting them, replacing old “poor quality” temporary classrooms.
Similar plans for older buildings at Caerleon Comprehensive are also in the early stages of development.
In November, a new primary school is expected to open at the Whiteheads site, a massive housing development near the city’s Royal Gwent Hospital.
The school project got off to a bumpy start, as ground remediation works caused “a significant delay” and cost around £1 million to fix, but the council has since reported “good progress” at the site.
The three-form entry school will replace the “oversubscribed” Pillgwenlly Primary, and will also welcome new pupils from the 528-home Whiteheads housing development.
The previous delays at that site have had a knock-on effect on another school, however.
Pupils at the Welsh-medium Ysgol Gyfun Nant Gwenlli are currently waiting to move into the Pillgwenlly Primary site, but this will not happen until next April, giving the council time to survey the building and make any necessary renovations.
Cllr Davies, who is also the cabinet member for education, said the project “will eventually support a 50% increase in Welsh-medium primary provision across the city”, and will also support the Welsh Government’s Cymraeg 2050 plans for one million Welsh speakers nationwide.
For other schools, the wait for new facilities has been longer and more disruptive.
St Andrew’s Primary had to close its juniors’ building in 2021 due to “significant structural issues”, and relocate those pupils and staff to Newport Live’s Connect Centre, where they have remained for lessons.
A series of “unexpected” delays have plagued the construction of a replacement building, but the project is “progressing well” and the new classrooms are expected to open in January.
Structural problems have also caused disruption at Millbrook Primary, in Bettws, which has been knocked down and pupils and staff moved to an adult learning centre in Brynglas.
A new school has been pledged to replace the demolished site, and design work was expected to begin this summer.
“Both St Andrew’s and Millbrook school communities had to relocate, and I would like to thank the heads, staff, parents, carers and governors for helping to make sure that children could continue their education safely in what were difficult but unavoidable circumstances”, said Cllr Davies, who added the council was “grateful” for Welsh Government financial support for the city’s school improvements.
“Delays are sometimes inevitable with major projects due to many different factors but it is important that the new facilities are completed to extremely high standards so they can serve their communities for many years to come,” she added. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​