AN INVESTMENT of more than £13 million will be made in primary education in Bangor, after Cyngor Gwynedd successfully secured funding to transform two of the city’s schools.
Pupils and staff at Ysgol Ein Harglwyddes will have a brand-new school on a new site, whilst Ysgol Hirael will be transformed, so that both schools will be able to deliver an education with the best possible teaching resources, at the heart of the community.
Cyngor Gwynedd officers will now move ahead with the exciting plans which will help ensure that local children have rich learning opportunities and social experiences in modern buildings that meet the curriculum's requirements.
For Ysgol Ein Harglwyddes, the council has secured £7.7million (85% from the Welsh Government's Sustainable Learning Communities Programme and 15% from the Catholic Church's Wrexham Diocese), in order to build a new school that will offer a Catholic education in Bangor on the former site of Ysgol Glanadda in the city.
The current school is in a poor state of repair and the new building will be a much more suitable home for the 150 pupils, their teachers and their classroom assistants.
The new school will include a nursery provision as well as Early Years facilities.
At Ysgol Hirael, £5.5million will be invested to transform the school, with almost £3.6million coming from the Welsh Government's Sustainable Learning Communities, and the rest from Cyngor Gwynedd match funding.
By now, the extensions built in the 1970s have reached the end of their lifespan, and it is not cost effective to refurbish them.
The improvements will include interior remodelling in the kitchen, hall and some of the classrooms, and constructing a new extension as well as ensuring improvements to the school yard, in order to secure a suitable space for the 210 pupils at the school.
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Careful planning will mean that the school will remain open throughout construction and it is hoped that the work will be completed by 2026.
Parents, guardians, school staff and the local community will have the opportunity to see plans for the new extension as well as the interior work on the existing building before construction begins during a drop-in session with council officers and the successful contractor.
Councillor Beca Brown, Cyngor Gwynedd's cabinet member for education, said: “This is very good news for the pupils and staff, to both schools' communities and to the city of Bangor more broadly.
“Our aim is to ensure that all children in the county have access to modern and suitable education facilities.
"Securing this for the children of Bangor and the vicinity at this point is a source of great pride for me and will help to enable the pupils to meet their full potential.
“The two existing schools are dated and through this investment, both schools will offer a more pleasant and modern environment.
“Ysgol Hirael and Ysgol Ein Harglwyddes will also be more eco-friendly establishments since they will use less energy and produce less carbon.
“I wish to thank the teachers and the governors for their cooperation in order to reach this important milestone. I look forward to seeing the children benefiting from the new experiences their new learning environments will provide.”
The Right Reverend Peter M Brignall, Bishop of Wrexham, said: “I am delighted to receive the news that Welsh Government has approved the application for funding the new Ysgol Ein Harglwyddes in Bangor.
“This exciting project of a new school building in Bangor opens a fresh chapter in the 145-year history of Catholic education in the City.
“The new building and facilities on the site of the old Glanadda school will greatly enhance the learning opportunities and resources for our young people and families who choose a faith based and Catholic ethos for the education of their children.
“The new school is evidence of the fruitful partnership between Welsh Government, Cyngor Gwynedd and the Catholic Church.
“I am grateful to Welsh Government, Cyngor Gwynedd and the many others, at the School and beyond who have worked to achieve this outcome.”
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