A village primary school has had its new extension roofed with slate from the reopened quarry that supplied the original roof.
The historic Cwt y Bugail Quarry, at Blaenau Ffestiniog, closed in 1961 but recently re-opened and one of its first shipments has been for the extension at Ysgol O M Edwards, at Llanuwchllyn, near Bala, for Gwynedd Council.
The school has been given a £1 million refurbishment by award-winning builders Anwyl Construction who were delighted to be able to get an exact match for the original blue-grey slate roof.
The work being carried out at the school made it one of the greenest schools in Wales when it moved into its new constructed and refurbished buildings for the start of the new school year in September.
The Rhyl-based company have installed a rainwater harvesting system, a biomass boiler and electricity-generating photovoltaic solar panels on the roof as part of the refurbishment and extensions.
But keeping the rain off the eco-friendly mod-cons will be traditional Welsh slate from the historic Cwt y Bugail quarry which originally opened in the 1840s.
Two of its first shipments of its dark blue-grey slate have been used at the school and at the five-star Me London Hotel, designed by Sir Norman Foster’s company for Melia Hotels, in London’s West End.
Simon Rose, Anwyl Construction Commercial Manager, has overseen the project which began in December and was completed on schedule and he said: “The project has gone very well and we’ve had a great relationship with the school and the client, Gwynedd Council.
“They have a really advanced building now with some great features and they will even generate their own electricity with the solar panels.
“The rainwater harvesting system provides water for the toilets while the biomass boiler is another energy-efficient measure as is the insulated external rendering and we’ve been delighted to be able to be able to source the slate from the original quarry.”
The design for the new school has been carried out by Tim Hughes, Project Manager for construction consultants Atkins UK, and he said: “It achieves one of the highest ratings for its Energy Performance Certificate of any school in Wales.
“We have made it as sustainable as possible and as well as the biomass boiler which will use wood pellets sourced from Welsh forests, the rainwater harvesting and the solar panels, it will also have a special external insulated rendering system.
“And it is especially fitting that we have been able to find an exact match with the slate roof by being able to use slate from the newly-reopened Cwt y Bugail Quarry.
“Altogether it will be a very sustainable school with a very low carbon usage.”
Head Teacher Dilys Ellis-Jones has also been delighted and she said: “We had an Inspection in 2012 and we were rated excellent for everything except the school buildings which they said were not fit for purpose but now we’ve got the buildings as well.
“Our facilities now are up to and beyond 21st century standard. It’s a place where children can learn in a fantastic environment and it has meant for the first time we can have a nursery and we’re up to 91 pupils.
“We have had a very good relationship with Anwyl Construction and their site manager, Adrian Williams, has been here every day, has provided me with a hard hat and hi-vis vest and even written progress reports for the governors.”
The work carried out has also included the demolition of the old toilet block at the rear and the construction of an extension along with internal remodelling.
Simon Rose added: “We have worked very well with the headteacher and the pupils who have been housed in temporary classrooms on the existing school field.
“We have given the pupils and staff a bilingual talk on Health and Safety and organised a competition for the pupils to design a castle and we had a fantastic response from them with some great designs.”
Councillor Ioan Thomas, Gwynedd Council’s Cabinet Member for Customer Care, said: “We are delighted to see Ysgol O M Edwards, with its rich heritage of national importance, being upgraded to such a high standard – and I congratulate the contractors on their work.
“It is especially pleasing to see the new extension being roofed with the same slates as those used on the original building all those years ago.
“We are proud to see our traditional local materials being used in combination with the latest green technology to create a sustainable building of the highest quality.
“It shows that there is a future for our traditional industries, and the Council is committed to doing everything it can to boost the local economy whilst ensuring the best possible learning environment for our children.”
