New £4.3million Ysgol Rhys Prichard has it all

WHEN children and staff at Ysgol Rhys Prichard moved into their new school, they didn’t just get a school, they got a community hub, leisure facilities, rugby pitch and a swimming pool next door too!

The primary school has relocated to the former Ysgol Pantycelyn secondary school site providing bright and airy accommodation and state-of-the-art facilities.

The move has increased its capacity to 240 places and made provision for an external Cylch Meithrin integrated into the new school building. It also includes a large hall which can be shared with the community of Llandovery, a rugby pitch, multi-use games area and hard and soft play areas.

A virtual celebration event has been held to mark the official completion of the £4.3million project, which has been delivered as part of the Carmarthenshire County Council’s Modernising Education Programme, jointly funded by Welsh Government through its 21st Century Schools initiative. A further £350k community hub capital grant was secured from Welsh Government to provide the leisure facility.

The school welcomed Carmarthenshire County Council Leader Cllr Emlyn Dole, Cabinet Member Cllr Glynog Davies along with Chief Executive Wendy Walters and Director of Education and Children’s Services Gareth Morgans to a virtual event to find out what pupils liked best about their new school.

Cllr Dole said: “It’s a unique opportunity moving a primary school to a secondary school location, and all that brings and offers to students and staff.

“The idea behind the Modernising Education Programme of course is to see this duplicated right across the county for all our students and staff.”

Cllr Davies added: “Education has changed dramatically; technology is moving on at a fast pace and I know that that technology is being used at Ysgol Rhys Prichard. We want to prepare our pupils for the future, so that they can get good jobs, and hopefully stay in Carmarthenshire.”

The event included a special screening of a short film which the children helped to make to show-off their new school and all its facilities. It will be shared with their families and the local community who have been unable to visit due to the pandemic.

Local member Cllr Handel Davies said: “Is there a better primary school in Wales or even the world? We’ve got a community hall, a leisure centre, swimming pool, a rugby pitch and the classroom sizes are something else. Not only is it beneficial to the school and the children, but it is also a fantastic community asset.”

The new school was designed by council architects and the works were carried out by local contractors Lloyd & Gravell Ltd.