Term starts in £11.2m new school for pupils
PUPILS and teachers have begun the new summer term in a new school in Ruthin.
The £11.2m school building at Glasdir opened in time for 428 pupils from Ysgol Pen Barras and Rhos Street School to move to the new site this week.
Denbighshire County Council and the Welsh Government funded the project through the 21st Century Schools programme.
Marc Jones, head teacher of Ysgol Pen Barras, said: “We are extremely pleased to be welcoming children here for their very first day. We have waited a long time for this day, but it’s a great day.
“We needed to share facilities at the old site, making sure that sessions didn’t clash. We’ve also had to share the school hall, meeting rooms, instrumental lessons were being held in the staff room. Both schools have worked very closely over the years to facilitate all of this and that close co-operation will continue.
“Now we won’t need to share facilities as both schools will have their own. It will be a lot more practical and the brand new facilities will mean the world to all the children.”
Bryn Jones, head teacher at Rhos Street School, said: “Pupils have been coming in and saying ‘wow’. It is a really impressive 21st century site which keeps up with technological change and offers a fantastic opportunity for our pupils.”
Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts, Denbighshire County Council’s lead member for education, children and young people, said: “This school marks a significant investment in education in the Ruthin area. It will benefit students for many years to come and it is fantastic to see these plans come to fruition.
“This project will help us achieve our corporate priority to ensure young people are being supported to achieve their potential and have modern school facilities that further enhance their learning.”
The council’s modernising education programme has already seen more than £56m of investment in schools in the county including a new building for Rhyl High and Ysgol Tir Morfa, as well as improvement works at Bodnant Community School, Prestatyn, and Ysgol Glan Clwyd, St Asaph, with a number of projects still in the pipeline.