Plans for a new school serving the Islwyn West area of Caerphilly county borough are progressing well, with provisional timescales for the design and construction of the school in place.
In a meeting of Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Cabinet, Members were shown the plans, which have been prepared by the authority’s Building Consultancy Design Team and the Client Department, and will be formally agreed with project managers when appointed.
Consultation on the design of the school has taken place with key stakeholders, including staff and pupils and the intention is to have a preliminary design in place by September 2014.
It is envisaged that construction on the new 900 place school could begin as early as March 2015, with completion in time for classes to begin in September 2016.
Cllr Rhianon Passmore, Cabinet Member for Education and Lifelong Learning, commented, “It is encouraging to see the plans for this exciting and essential 21st Century Schools project underway. This school will provide a much needed, modern learning environment for 900 young people in the Islwyn West area.”
The new secondary school will serve Oakdale and Pontllanfraith and will be located at the Oakdale Plateau 3. The school will be a 900 place school with 50 places for pupils with additional learning needs and is part of Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Secondary Rationalisation Programme and the 21st Century Schools Programme.
The school will address 631 surplus places between Oakdale and Pontllanfraith secondary schools, which accounted for 36% of the combined capacity, as well as a backlog of maintenance works that could cost around £13.5m.
The 21st Century School project has been made possible thanks to match funding from the Welsh Government.
