£106.2m worth of funding set for five new schools in Neath Port Talbot

Lewis Smith, local democracy reporter

Funding worth around £106.2m has been put forward by councillors at Neath Port Talbot this week, in order to build five new school projects across the borough.

The approval came from members who met at the education, skills and wellbeing cabinet board on November 24, to hear about the five projects which represent the council’s next phase of investment under the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme.

The Welsh Government’s Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme supports capital build projects for new and replacement schools, with the council having benefitted from roughly £200m of capital investment since 2014, on new school projects such as Ysgol Bae Baglan and Awel Y Mor.

The five schools that would receive a share of the latest round of funding include those at Llangatwg Comprehensive, YGG Rhosafan, Tywyn Primary, Ysgol Gymraeg Newydd Dwyrain, and St Joseph’s RC School and Sixth Form Centre and St. Joseph’s Catholic Junior School.

In Llangatwg Comprehensive a replacement 11-16 Secondary school is proposed to be built on the playing fields of the existing site, with 850 places and new 16 place learning support centre.

Welsh medium

Similarly, at YGG Rhosafan a replacement primary school for 3-11 is proposed, with 465 places, including a 45-place nursery, and 16 place learning support centre to accommodate increased numbers of Welsh-medium pupils in the area.

The approval also came for a replacement 3-11 Primary school at Tywyn Primary School where a new build school would be built on the playing fields of the existing site, with the existing building demolished to make way for new playing fields on completion.

Elsewhere, funding would go towards a new Welsh-medium 3-11 primary school at Ysgol Gymraeg Newydd Dwyrain, consisting of 465 places, and a new build replacement 7-18 middle school for 1,130 places at St Joseph’s RC School and Sixth Form Centre and St. Joseph’s Catholic Junior School.

Cllr Nia Jenkins, Neath Port Talbot Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Training said: “Projects proposed for this next phase of investment aim to address the poorest condition school buildings. There are many more schemes that will still need to be tackled with the support of future funding initiatives.

“Through these projects, the council will also seek to address Welsh in Education Plan targets to increase the number of pupils accessing Welsh medium education, as well as addressing challenges of providing specialist education for pupils with Additional Learning Needs.”