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£50m School and Community Masterplan Reaches Milestone
Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s £50m education, leisure and community master plan for the Ynys Site in Aberdare has reached an important milestone.
The Welsh Government has this month given the green light for the Council to do what is necessary to close Blaengwawr Comprehensive, Aberdare Girls’ and Aberdare High Schools, pending the creation of a bespoke new school on The Ynys.
Images of how the new school will look were shared with the pupils, teachers and other school staff who will eventually benefit from it – and who were consulted and have had a say in how it should be designed.
They were given the chance to shape how the school, which will have 1600 places, will look and what its layout – including open spaces, Special Education Needs rooms, drama studios, workshops, IT suites and more – should be.
This feedback has been reflected in the plans and artists’ impressions that were shared with them during a session at Michael Sobell Sports Centre last week.
The new school, set to create a modern, inspiring environment in which all young people can secure the education, skills and training they need to thrive in life, forms just a part of the development.
It will also see the creation of a modern, state-of-the-art sport and leisure centre which will focus on improvement and expansion of the existing Aberdare Pool and replacement of provision currently offered at Michael Sobell Sports Centre, which will be demolished.
There will also be wider, outdoor sporting and community facilities on the site, which will provide yet another boost to the town, which is currently undergoing a multi-million-pound regeneration.
Cllr Eudine Hanagan, Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning at Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, said: “This ambitious scheme forms part of the Council’s robust response to the issues facing our young residents today.
“They need and deserve flexible, exceptional learning environments in which they can secure the education, qualifications, vocational skills and personal development they need to thrive in whatever they choose to be in life.
“This scheme will enable us to deliver that, removing issues such as surplus places and limited curriculum options so all learners are given the best-possible opportunities.
“Of course, this development will also benefit the wider community, complementing the extensive regeneration of the town centre to ensure Aberdare has an excellent range of leisure, health, social and shopping experiences for its residents but also to attract new visitors and investors.”
The next stage of the delivery of the scheme is securing the necessary planning permission approvals.
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So ready for september 2020
So ready for september 2020 then
I thought the new school was
I thought the new school was costing us £50 million not £350 million must be lots of money in Rhondda Cynon Taf
£350m Aberdare super-school plan unveiled
Artists' impressions of school The school has been proposed as part of an 'education, leisure and community masterplan'
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Plans for a controversial multimillion-pound super-school for 1,600 pupils in the Cynon Valley have been unveiled.
Artists' impressions of the £50m project have been shown to staff and pupils at Michael Sobell Sports Centre in Aberdare.
Blaengwawr Comprehensive, Aberdare Girls' and Aberdare High schools are earmarked to close in August 2014.
In May, the Welsh government gave the green light to the closures, despite objections.
Rhondda Cynon Taf council is proposing the school on one site as part of an "education, leisure and community masterplan" from September 2014.
But David Evans, the head teacher at Blaengwar school, said community schools needed to remain within the Cynon Valley so pupils were given a more personal education.
'Disappointing'
"Blaengwawr has always been a school for the community," he said. "We are like a big family. We know all the parents and pupils and that might be lost within the new school.
"I believe areas of social deprivation like ours need smaller schools - they are more effective in establishing children's needs.
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"But we have fought the fight and haven't won it. It's disappointing.
"We hope the changes won't affect the teaching standards, but some teachers are already looking for work elsewhere - and who would blame them?
"The important thing is that the pupils' transition is as smooth as possible."
The plans include the creation of a modern, state-of-the-art sport and leisure centre, expanding the existing Aberdare pool and demolishing the Michael Sobell Sports' Centre.
Eudine Hanagan, cabinet member for education, skills and lifelong learning, said: "This ambitious scheme forms part of the council's robust response to the issues facing our young residents today.
"They need and deserve flexible, exceptional learning environments in which they can secure the education, qualifications, vocational skills and personal development they need to thrive in whatever they choose to be in life."
She said the scheme would give children "the best possible opportunities".
"Of course, this development will also benefit the wider community, complementing the extensive regeneration of the town centre to ensure Aberdare has an excellent range of leisure, health, social and shopping experiences for its residents but also to attract new visitors and investors,"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-18368588