Cardiff West Community High School

PRESS RELEASE - Artist impressions of brand new Cardiff secondary school unveiled

Images showing how the new building for Cardiff West Community High School will look have been released by Cardiff Council today.

The £36m project will create a brand new home for the school next to Trelai Park in Caerau, and at eight form-entry, the new build will be able to accommodate up to 1200 pupils, in over 13,500 square metres of floor space.

Cardiff West Community High School will open this September, temporarily located at the current Michaelston Glyn Derw Federation site in Ely during the first year, before moving to the purpose-built home situated on Pennally Road in Caerau.

Along with new school buildings split into three separate blocks, the 8.8 hectare site will accommodate new playing fields and a mixed use games area.

The new building is being jointly funded by the council and Welsh Government, as part of Cardiff’s £164m 21st Century Schools programme.

Deputy Leader of Cardiff Council, and Cabinet Member for Education, Employment and Skills, Cllr Sarah Merry said:

“The new Cardiff West Community High School will bring further opportunities for the children and young people living in Caerau and Ely, in a modern and attractive learning environment fit for the 21st Century.

Providing better education and skills for all is a priority for the council, and by giving the pupils the best facilities and best standards of teaching available, we can help them develop the right skills to succeed.

I strongly believe that there should be a close relationship between schools and the communities they serve.

With the new school design including facilities that everyone living in the area can benefit from, Cardiff West Community High School is another excellent example of this being put into practice.”

As well as representing a £36m investment in the local area, the project will also bring a number of other community benefits during its construction, including working with local schools and colleges, contributing to community schemes, training and employment opportunities and opportunities for small and medium sized businesses to supply materials and services.

Headteacher designate of the school, Mr Martin Hulland said:

Seeing the images of the new school is tremendously exciting and it brings Cardiff West Community High School’s new home another step closer.

For the parents and pupils, and people living in Caerau and Ely, this school cannot come soon enough, and this is another clear signal that Cardiff West Community High School is happening.

“Preparations to open the school at its temporary home in September are going really well and staff recruitment is nearing completion.

A lot has been achieved over a relative short space of time. In the last few months the school name has been announced, a new badge has been chosen and, having already shared initial designs, we are looking forward to showing the new school uniform to pupils and parents in the next couple of weeks.

The excitement is building all the time and the hard work continues as we approach the school opening in September.

Cardiff West Community High School is set to become a ‘pathfinder school’, promoting links forged under a ‘Creative Education Partnership’ that will see some of the biggest names in Cardiff’s creative sector joining forces with the local authority to promote creativity at the heart of learning.

The partnership will offer the school’s children and young people exciting work experience placements, helping them to make the most of opportunities in the creative and cultural sector, including film, television, digital design and theatre.

It will also give them creative skills that can be applied to other careers and jobs. 

Cllr Merry added:

This is an excellent opportunity to strengthen education by putting creativity at the heart of learning and unlocking opportunities in Cardiff’s successful creative economy.

It is essential that we help the city’s young people put themselves in the strongest possible position to take full advantage of Cardiff’s growing economy.

I want to make sure that that no one is left behind and that a child’s social background is not the deciding factor in whether or not they can build a successful career for themselves.

The ‘Founding Partners’ are Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales; BBC Wales; Cardiff Council; Cardiff and Vale College; Cardiff Metropolitan University, Creative & Cultural Skills; University of South Wales; Wales Millennium Centre; Welsh National Opera.

Cardiff Council, Jeremy Rhys
Tel: 029 2087 2639
Email
: jeremy.rhys@cardiff.gov.uk