The handover of the new Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Penfro in Pembroke has been completed, with Gareth Rees, Project Manager with Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure Ltd handing the keys to the new school to Executive Headteacher Dafydd Hughes on July 8th.
Following the award of the contract for the design and build of the new school, Morgan Sindall commenced work on the site in March 2023.
Rob Williams, Operations Director for Morgan Sindall said that it had been a privilege to work on such a landmark project, the school being the first in Pembrokeshire to be delivered meeting stringent Net Zero Carbon requirements.
He said: “It was brilliant to be a part of the project handover this week, it’s a fantastic school in such a beautiful location. We are very proud of the project and thank the Pembrokeshire County Council team for both the opportunity to deliver such a great project and for such an enjoyable collaborative approach to design and deliver a very sustainable Net Zero Carbon school with fantastic facilities. It really felt we formed one team. A big thank you to everyone involved.”
The Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Penfro building project has been funded by the Welsh Government through its Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme, and Pembrokeshire County Council, and will open in September 2024.
The school will provide full day-care for up to 36 children aged 0-11 years, a 30 place nursery, and capacity for up to 210 pupils (Reception to Year 6). Cllr. Guy Woodham, Cabinet Member for Education and the Welsh Language, said that he was delighted that this important project had been completed.
Cllr Woodham added: “This project represents a significant milestone in the Council’s delivery of its Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP), and I am very grateful that the hard work of officers and contractors has resulted in a new school which has been delivered on budget and on time, and which will be in a position to admit pupils for the first time in September 2024. As the Cabinet member with responsibility for Education and the Welsh language, I look forward to visiting Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Penfro during the autumn and seeing the school in operation at first hand.”
In receiving the keys to the new school, Mr Hughes said that Morgan Sindall, working alongside Pembrokeshire County Council’s project team, had produced an excellent educational facility and that it represented an exciting new chapter for Welsh medium education in Pembrokeshire.
“I know that the children who will be attending this school will greatly benefit from a truly 21st century learning environment, and those that will transfer from the Welsh stream at Ysgol Gelli Aur / Golden Grove School are extremely excited at the prospect of continuing their education at Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Penfro. Those children have been frequent visitors to the site during the construction period, and along with staff, have been welcomed wholeheartedly by the contractors.”
An open evening is being held at the school on Monday 15th July at 4.30pm, and this will be an opportunity for the local community to visit the school, and for prospective parents and their children to view the excellent facilities.
