City schools’ merger confirmed ahead of plans for new £18m primary

Nicholas Thomas, local democracy reporter

Two primary schools in the Bettws area of Newport will merge next September, and then eventually move into a new £18 million home.

The merger has been agreed despite concerns around traffic and potential disruption during the new school’s construction.

The ‘amalgamation’ of Millbrook and Monnow primaries and the commitment to building the new school “shows the children of Bettws deserve the best”, said Cllr Dimitri Batrouni, the city council’s leader.

Structural issues

Millbrook Primary was demolished after safety inspectors found structural issues in the main school building, and pupils have recently started their fourth academic year learning in temporary classrooms in Brynglas.

Rather than building a like-for-like replacement school for Millbrook, the council has opted to develop a larger school which will also take in pupils from Monnow Primary – which was facing a £1.4 million maintenance backlog.

At a cabinet meeting to finalise the amalgamation, Cllr Deb Davies, the cabinet member for education, said the project will be “life-changing for those children”.

Cllr Davies said Bettws residents may feel “like an outlier” in Newport due to its position on the city’s outskirts.

“This is a game-changer, it’s going to provide Flying Start [early years’ support] – that’s the intention – [and] sport facilities will be accessible for the whole community,” she added.

Relocation

According to a council report, the amalgamation will take effect in September 2026, and building work on the new school – on the old Millbrook site – is currently expected to take place during the academic year commencing in September 2027.

The relocation of pupils and staff to their new school will happen “as soon as possible following construction of the new building”.

Other cabinet members added their support for the project, including Cllr James Clarke, the cabinet member for regeneration, who called the new school proposal a “big positive” and “important in moving Newport forward”.

Cllr Laura Lacey, the cabinet member for social services, said the completion of other new-build schools across Newport had created better “learning environments” for their pupils, and said the outcomes for Bettws are “going to be phenomenal”.

Following a final consultation period, the council received eight objections to the proposals, including parking, traffic and safety concerns for the new school site.

The council said it would develop a plan to “minimise the impact of parental drop-offs and collections, and encourage pupils to safely walk or cycle to school.

Standards

Other concerns included the standards and quality within a larger school – to which the council said Estyn had concluded the merger was likely to at least maintain the current standard of education provision.

Some pupils will need to travel further to get to the new school, but it should still have an “overall positive impact” on pupils’ wellbeing, the council added.

Meanwhile, the council said any “disruption, noise and mess associated with the proposed building works” would be regulated by a “detailed” management plan, including delivery times and working hours.

Another objection raised the prospect of the Monnow Primary site making way for new housing.

The council said there was “no confirmed plan” for that site, but noted the site was in a flood zone and suggested the existing building could also be refurbished and reused.