5/1/22

A good education can transform lives, but can a building transform an education?

Well, the short answer is yes, we think it can - that's why we're investing £450 million in new and upgraded facilities across the city through our 21^stCentury Schools programme.

Martin Hulland, head teacher at the new Cardiff West Community High School in Ely, oversaw a move from old buildings, which in his words were "tired and worn" and "not up to scratch..."

Into these impressive new facilities...

In this video, he explains the impact the buildings have had: https://youtu.be/Q1zbLyaQ5ZM

Quite a transformation by the sounds of it. This quote stood out for us: "first and foremost what the new building has allowed us to do is improve the quality of learning in the classroom."

And it's not just Cardiff West - since 2017 as well as upgrading many schools, we've opened two brand new high schools and six primary schools in Cardiff.

In addition to Cardiff West Community High School - there's the new Eastern High School, based on an innovative shared learning campus with Cardiff & Vale College.

And as for primary schools, there's Pontprennau, Howardian, Ysgol Hamadryad, Gabalfa, Ysgol Glan Ceubal, and Ysgol Glan Morfa in Splott - the school in this picture. 

We paid a visit to this Welsh medium primary in Splott, to find out if their new buildings have had the same impact as they have at secondary level.

Here's what we found out from head teacher Meilir Tomos:https://youtu.be/VLxmvV1nPr0

Pretty inspiring stuff. Which is why we're not done yet.

Last April, work began on the new Fitzalan High School - a £64 million investment in the community. When it's finished, it will have 100 classrooms, 4 sports pitches and a 25m swimming pool, and will look something like this...

And in October 2021, plans to bring the sort of educational benefits already enjoyed by pupils at Cardiff West to Cathays, were progressed.

The plans would see a new Cathays High School delivered as part of a priority investment scheme designed to transform the learning experience.

Right now, the buildings are in poor condition, with major defects and maintenance issues - on top of that, a significant percentage of the school is housed in temporary accommodation.

A replacement school is needed to help enable pupils to reach their full potential.

There are more details about what we've got planned here: https://www.cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/27715.html

But essentially it would mean the existing school being upgraded and improved to provide pupils with the most modern education environment available.

And as we've seen from the impact of new buildings at other schools - top class facilities really can help pupils to realise their ambitions.

But the upgraded facilities won't just benefit the pupils. They'll benefit the community as well.

New schools have upgraded facilities - for example the sports facilities, dance studio and creative spaces, as seen in these pictures from Cardiff West - facilities which can also be made available for use by communities.

There will also be space for the local community to continue to have access to off-road open spaces for informal leisure use.

Plus, the school will also offer expanded provision for learners with Autism Spectrum Conditions.

And while we're talking about pupils with Additional Learning Needs, it's not just at Cathays that we're planning to expand provision.

Our ambition is for all children to be able to access appropriate learning opportunities and routes into education - so we're proposing an additional 467 places across Cardiff.

More on that here: https://www.cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/27713.html

We've also got plans for Riverbank School and Woodlands High School - more on that a bit later.

But back to buildings - a replacement building for Willows High School is also on the cards, with pupils, parents and the wider community all having their say on the plans over the summer.

Once built, the new school will provide a high-quality learning environment for 900 pupils - and new community facilities for residents to enjoy outside of school hours.

More detail here: https://www.cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/27530.html

And we haven't mentioned the pioneering educational campus being planned in Fairwater yet - it brings together Cantonian High School, Woodlands High School, and Riverbank School on one campus, allowing each school to retain its identity, but benefit from shared facilities, expertise and teaching opportunities, in new-build facilities that will provide the best possible experience for pupils, teachers and the community.

In line with our #OnePlanetCardiff response to the climate emergency, these new school buildings will see the introduction of Net Zero Carbon targets.

You can read more about this ambitious project here: https://www.cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/27083.html

And because we set community benefit targets for the construction phase of new school buildings - targets which have seen our construction partners at Fitzalan High providing jobs, training and apprenticeships to young people (including former pupils) looking for a career in the industry - the community benefits should go beyond the buildings themselves.

And if you're thinking, "what about primary schools?" You might want to read this press release on our plans to increase primary provision in the north-west of the city, where a number of new housing developments are being built: https://www.cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/27013.html

More homes, mean more families, and more children - children who deserve a great school. Which is why (subject to public consultation), we have even more plans, including expanding Pentyrch Primary School from 140 to 210 places, and establishing a 48 (part-time) place nursery provision funded using Section 106 contributions agreed with developers as part of the planning process.

New homes in the north-east of the city, at the St Edeyrns development, will also be getting a new primary school, courtesy of Section 106 contributions.

The new school was granted planning permission in April and is currently expected to be ready for the learning to begin in academic year starting September 2022.

https://www.cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/26282.html

It's a lot of building.

It's a lot of investment.

£450 million worth.

Because it's a lot of hopes, a lot of dreams, and a lot of futures in our hands.

We think it's worth it.