New net zero all-through school celebrates official opening
Monmouthshire County Council has marked a historic milestone with the official opening of the new King Henry VIII 3-19 School in Abergavenny.
The event, held on Thursday, 10 July, attended by Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Education Lynne Neagle, Monmouthshire County Council Leader Cllr Mary Ann Brocklesby, MCC Cabinet Member for Education Cllr Laura Wright, and a host of dignitaries, staff, and pupils, celebrated the completion of the first operationally net-zero carbon all-through school in Wales.
The £70 million project, jointly funded by the Welsh Government and Monmouthshire County Council under the Sustainable Communities for Learning programme and constructed by Morgan Sindall, represents a bold investment in the future of education in the region.
Monmouthshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr Laura Wright, said: “This building is more than bricks and mortar. It’s a beacon for a modern education system in Wales, designed to inspire, to nurture, and to empower our young people.”
“Remarkable investment”
Cabinet Secretary for Education, Lynne Neagle said: “I was delighted to visit King Henry VIII School for the official opening and witness this remarkable investment that was made possible through our Sustainable Communities for Learning programme.
“As our first operationally net-zero carbon all-through school, not only will our learners benefit from high quality facilities, but they will also benefit from learning in a sustainable school environment. What has been achieved here is truly inspiring for our learners.”
The ceremony featured performances from pupils across all ages, showcasing the school’s through school strategy. Guests enjoyed performances from the cast of the school’s production of Les Misérables, a dance performance by pupils in Years 1 and 2, as well as performances from the Primary Phase and All-Age Choirs.
Adding to the celebration, Monmouthshire County Council was recently named “Client of the Year” at the Constructing Excellence in Wales Awards, held at Celtic Manor on 20 June.
The award recognised the council’s exemplary leadership and collaborative approach throughout the King Henry VIII project. Judges praised the council’s unwavering focus on quality, sustainability, and community impact, noting that the project sets a benchmark for public sector delivery.
As winners of the Welsh award, the council will now represent Wales at the UK-wide Constructing Excellence National Awards later this year.
“Honour”
Monmouthshire County Council’s Leader, Cllr Mary Ann Brocklesby, noted: “It’s an honour to be named as ‘Client of the Year’. As a council, we wanted to ensure that this project not only delivered a building for the next few years, but one that will shape education within the town and county for generations to come.
“The award highlights our dedication to achieving this, and we look forward to representing Wales at the UK National awards.”
Phase two of the project, which includes the completion of the playing fields and the energy centre, is scheduled for completion by April 2026.
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So an English school in Wales named after the adulterer who closed and ransacked our monasteries and turned our country into an English province, funded by the Welsh taxpayer. Ok.
It’s a surprising choice of role model. By breaking links with Rome just to suit his libido the wife killer invented poverty, elitism, sectarianism and Euroscepticism.
My thoughts exactly.
Henry 8 was a bit of an abuser and murdered his wives. Not a nice fellow at all. Wish other names were used.
But Net Zero, good, would like to know more. Hope there are no plastic pitch fields.
The King Henry VIII Grammar School opened in 1542. The school’s first Headmaster Mr Oldsworthy MA (Oxon) was appointed by King Henry the 1/8th Welsh himself. The “grammar” that the first tranche of pupils- 26 boys- studied was Latin. According to the Estyn report on the King Henry VIII Comprehensive school dated November 2022: “opportunities for pupils to develop the language [Welsh] and celebrate Welsh heritage and culture are limited”. Over the course of nearly half a millennium much has changed, but some things remain the same!
One of a network of selective schools funded by stolen wealth and intended to create a new ruling elite that would preserve and legitimise Henry’s legacy that eventually evolved into the privately educated blob that runs Whitehall.
What are you on about? Privately educated? What an insane comment. This school is far from the sort. It’s next to a council estate and most people who have gone to it are typical common people.
The school is 483 years old. It only became a state school in 1963.