School recognised for excellence – after one year!
CLOSE to a year after its official opening, a Llanelli school has been recognised for excellence.
Ysgol Pen Rhos, a £10.2 million primary school in the Seaside area of the town, was highly commended in the school project of the year category at the prestigious Education Buildings Wales Awards.
Officially opened in June last year, the school features facilities including a flying start nursery, solar panels and classroom terraces for outdoor lessons.
A 3G pitch has also been made available for school and community use, as well as hard and soft landscaping areas. Features including brickwork and pitched roofs have been incorporated to reflect the industrial heritage of a neighbouring terrace of houses, alongside the use of more contemporary features like metal and wooden cladding.
The project also delivered community benefits including training and local employment.
Ysgol Pen Rhos was funded by Carmarthenshire Council’s Modernising Education Programme and the Welsh Government’s 21st Century Schools initiative.
The school was constructed by T Richard Jones (Betws) Ltd.
Created from the merger of the former Copperworks Infant Nursery School and Lakefield Primary School, Ysgol Pen Rhos caters for 420 pupils and 60 nursery children.
Councillor David Jenkins, Carmarthenshire Council’s executive board member for resources, said: “Receiving an award for the quality of the school’s design and build is worthy recognition for an outstanding team effort that involved the council and its partners, as well as staff and pupils.
“The inclusion of environmentally friendly features also means the school will be sustainable for many years to come.”
He added: “Ysgol Pen Rhos is among many completed or planned projects in Carmarthenshire that show how seriously we take our commitment to providing the county’s children and communities with top quality facilities that meet the needs of the 21st century.”
Joe Cudd, head teacher of Ysgol Pen Rhos, said: “This award recognises the hard work of an exceptional team of people. Our school is at the heart of the Seaside community and a place where we can realise our children’s dreams. We hold 480 futures at Ysgol Pen Rhos in a building that inspires, nurtures and is filled with the voices of the future.”