Work is progressing well on five major school investment projects underway in Swansea.
More than £50m is currently being spent on new buildings and improved facilities at Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr, Bishopston Comprehensive, the new Pupil Referral Unit in Cockett and new schools for YGG Tan-y-lan and YGG Tirdeunaw.
It is part of a £150m investment in schools in Swansea jointly funded by the council and Welsh Government under the 21st Century Schools and Colleges Programme.
Cllr Jennifer Raynor, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Education Improvement, Learning and Skills, said: “Although working within heightened safety rules due to the coronavirus pandemic, I’m very pleased to see contractors on all the sites are making very good progress.
“In Swansea we are seeing the biggest ever investment in school buildings and facilities which is resulting in old and outdated buildings being transformed and new schools replacing those that are no longer fit for purpose.
“I have really enjoyed regular updates as work continues and I hope pupils, staff and parents are as excited as I am about how these facilities will transform education for thousands of pupils once completed.
“This investment is also supporting local businesses and local jobs which is so important in these difficult times.”
The piling, foundations and the structural steel frame have been completed on the extension at YG Gwyr.
To celebrate the milestone pupils from the school were asked to ‘sign the steel’ for posterity and came up with a short poem with the words written on the bones of the building.
Work on the sports fields is also going well with the sub-structure to the new all-weather pitches complete and the fencing and perimeter going up ahead of the laying of the playing surfaces towards the end of year.
At Bishopston the refurbishment of three science classrooms, a science prep room and a medical room have been finished and are now in use.
A new modular extension block containing nine new classrooms, including four science classrooms, two art rooms and a drama studio, is due to be handed back to the school at the end of this month.
At the site for YGG Tan-y-lan in Clase drainage works are nearly finished and the foundations are being laid giving an idea of the size and footprint of the new school.
The foundations are also nearing completion at YGG Tirdeunaw ready for the steel frame to start to be erected later this month.
The PRU is on track to be completed early in 2021.
