On Thursday, March 20, Councillor Andrew Morgan OBE, Leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council and Councillor Rhys Lewis, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and the Welsh Language attended Penygawsi Primary School alongside First Minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan MS, to formally open the doors to the new learning facilities.
The new school is designed to be net zero carbon in operation and comprises two nursery, one reception, three infant and six junior classrooms – along with a main hall and various other supporting areas. The school’s capacity has been increased to 310 primary school pupils plus 45 nursery places.
The first phase of the project to construct a new two-storey building with first-class facilities was completed in July 2024, and staff and pupils started to enjoy their new building from the start of the 2024/25 academic year.
Phase two then focused on the development’s external areas through the autumn and winter months in 2024/24 – to demolish the old school buildings and open up the site to construct a new car park, two Multi Use Games Areas, a grass sports pitch, and 40 cycle storage spaces.
The majority of the outdoor areas were completed in February 2025 and made available for the school to use. Only works to complete the grass sports pitch were ongoing at that point in time, due to their weather-dependent nature.
The overall investment is being jointly delivered by the Council and Welsh Government, using funding secured from the Mutual Investment Model (MIM) – the revenue funding stream of the Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme.
Councillor Rhys Lewis, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and the Welsh Language, said: “It’s always a pleasure to be a part of these special days. Meeting the pupils and staff and seeing how excited they are to show us around their new facilities is a fantastic feeling.
“I would like to thank the First Minister for joining us today, and Welsh Government for their investment alongside the Council, as part of the Mutual Investment Model.
“As a Council, we will continue to focus the funding we receive into the things that really matter to the people of Rhondda Cynon Taf, with our schools investments at the forefront of that.”
First Minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan MS, said: “As your First Minister I want to make sure every family has a chance to succeed, by providing children with the strongest foundations. I am proud that we have been able to support this commitment by jointly funding your fantastic new building at Penygawsi Primary school through our Sustainable Communities for Learning programme. I can already see that it will give young learners a truly inspiring environment to learn.”
Posted on 24/03/2025