The handover of the new Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Penfro in Pembroke - described as a ‘significant milestone’ for Pembrokeshire Council - has been completed.

Project Manager Gareth Rees with Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure Ltd handed the keys to the new school to Executive Headteacher Dafydd Hughes on July 8.

The school will provide full day-care for up to 36 children aged 0-11 years, a 30 place nursery, and capacity for up to 210 pupils (Reception to Year 6).

Cllr. Guy Woodham, Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and the Welsh Language, said: “This project represents a significant milestone in the Council’s delivery of its Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP), and I am very grateful that the hard work of officers and contractors has resulted in a new school which has been delivered on budget and on time, and which will be in a position to admit pupils for the first time in September 2024.

“As the Cabinet member with responsibility for Education and the Welsh language, I look forward to visiting Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Penfro during the autumn and seeing the school in operation at first hand,” he added.

In receiving the keys to the new school, head Mr Hughes said: “I know that the children who will be attending this school will greatly benefit from a truly 21st century learning environment, and those that will transfer from the Welsh stream at Ysgol Gelli Aur/Golden Grove School are extremely excited at the prospect of continuing their education at Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Penfro.

“Those children have been frequent visitors to the site during the construction period, and along with staff, have been welcomed wholeheartedly by the contractors.”

With work commencing on the site in March 2023, Rob Williams, Operations Director for Morgan Sindall said that it had been a privilege to work on such a landmark project, the school being the first in Pembrokeshire to be delivered meeting stringent Net Zero Carbon requirements.

The Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Penfro building project has been funded by the Welsh Government through its Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme, and Pembrokeshire County Council, and will open in September 2024.