Plans for new £34.7m school
DETAILED plans for a high school in Barry revealed.
Vale of Glamorgan Council wants to completely rebuild Pencoedtre High School and eventually cater for up to 1,250 pupils by 2026.
The new school campus would have a three-storey main building with a dining hall, main hall and courtyard, a £34.7m new have been sixth form area, an all-weather sports pitch and games courts.
A planning application says the new Pencoedtre High would be built south of the existing school building, which would be demolished when pupils move into the new site.
A car park – with 139 spaces – would be located on the site of the current school building.
The new mixed sex school, which would cater for pupils aged between 11 and 18, is expected to open in 2021 if planning permission is approved.
When it opens, it is expected that up to 1,100 pupils, including 200 sixth-formers, would be enrolled.
But pupil numbers would be expected to steadily rise until “full capacity is reached in 2026”, when there would be 1,250 pupils – including 200 sixth form students.
It would mean staff numbers at Pencoedtre High would increase to 150.
Pencoedtre High, which occupies the former all-girls Bryn Hafren Comprehensive School, currently has 846 pupils attending with a capacity of 1,331.
But a planning statement says the current Pencoedtre High School was built in 1971 and is now “beyond economical repair”.
The statement, sent on behalf of the council, says: “The current school building occupying the site is generally not of a standard for 21st century teaching and learning.
“The proposal supports the Vale of Glamorgan Council’s commitment to establishing mixed sex education in Barry, as well as establishing modern, high-quality learning environments that meet the school’s aspirations.”
The cost of the project, to be built by the council’s appointed contractor Bouygues, will be jointly-funded by the Welsh Government and the council under the 21st Century Schools Programme.
A total of 78 staff currently work at the school.
A consultation is now being held on the plans.