£17m Welsh medium primary school set to be built by September

Elgan Hearn – Local democracy reporter

Work to build a £17 million Welsh medium primary school is set to be completed by September, councillors have been told.

But the cost of building Ysgol Gymraeg Tredegar has risen again to around £10 million more than the original estimated cost of the project.

At a meeting of Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s Labour Cabinet on Wednesday, April 9, the ‘seedling’ primary school came up during discussion of the updated Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP) for the authority.

Education portfolio holder Cllr Sue Edmunds explained: “Forward looking milestones for the 2025/2026 academic season is to continue to increase the uptake in the number of places, and this will happen naturally through our new seedling school (Ysgol Gymraeg Tredegar).”

Temporary

The school which is increasing its pupils year by year has been temporarily located in Bedwellty House while the new facility on Chartist Way is being built.

Cllr Edmunds said: “Pupils will transition from their temporary location to the new school when the new building is completed in September.”

She added that the Welsh Government had asked for more ‘clarity’ around the issues that have affected and delayed the building work of the primary school.

At the moment older Welsh medium pupils from Blaenau Gwent attend Ysgol Gymraeg Gwynllyw Welsh medium secondary school in Pontypool across the county border in Torfaen.

This arrangement had been expected to end in 2028, however Cllr Edmunds told councillors that an extra two years have been given to Blaenau Gwent pupils.

Cllr Edmunds: “Our current arrangements have been extended from 2028 when it was due to finish to 2030, giving us an extra couple of years to make other provisions.”

Unanimously

A working group has been set up by the Welsh Government and includes all Gwent local authorities as well as Powys to look for a site to set up further Welsh medium secondary school provision in south east Wales.

Councillors who scrutinised the WESP update at a meeting earlier this month suggested that a site for a Welsh medium secondary school for the region could be found in Blaenau Gwent.

Cabinet went on to approve the WESP unanimously.

The development of Ysgol Gymraeg Tredegar has been beset with problems.

Planning permission to build a 210 pupil school at Chartist Way was approved by councillors on the council’s Planning committee back in September 2022.

In 2023 it emerged that the cost of the project had more than doubled from £6.2 million to £13.5 million.

In September last year the ISG group of companies, who had been building the school, collapsed and went into administration.

This has caused more problems as the council had to re-tender the contract.

The school has been described as ‘seedling,’ which means it would start with a first intake of early years and reception pupils, expanding on an annual basis through the school years.

It will take six years to fill up with pupils from three to 11 years old.