**Goetre Primary School Site Chosen for New Welsh-Medium School in Merthyr Tydfil**
The long-awaited decision over the permanent location for Merthyr Tydfil’s new Welsh-medium seedling school has now been made. Local authority cabinet members have agreed that the best site for the school is at Goetre Primary School, paving the way for a purpose-built facility aimed at meeting ambitious language targets set by the Welsh Government.
During the council cabinet meeting on Wednesday, July 9, councillors backed a recommendation from a comprehensive report proposing a brand new school building for 210 pupils on the present Goetre Primary site. The plan also outlines a temporary solution: from September 2027, until the new school is ready, pupils will be taught at the St Aloysius campus after it is vacated and refurbished.
The backdrop to this move is a drive by the Welsh Government to increase the number of pupils receiving their education in Welsh. Specifically, the council has been tasked with boosting the proportion of year one children in Welsh-medium education to between 22% and 26% of the overall cohort by 2031. Currently, the council is some way from meeting this challenge; in January 2020, only 100 year one pupils—around 14%—were taught in Welsh-medium schools.
With future projections in mind, official figures suggest between 144 and 170 pupils should be in Welsh-medium year one classes by January 2031 to meet the government’s targets. Currently, the borough is served by just two Welsh-medium primary schools—Ysgol Gymraeg Santes Tudful and Ysgol Gymraeg Rhyd Y Grug—which are located in the north/centre and south of Merthyr Tydfil, respectively.
As outlined in the cabinet report, council officers have carried out extensive investigations to establish the most suitable long-term site for the new seedling school. The process involved considering three possible school sites, with factors such as their proximity to Welsh-language nursery provision (cylch meithrin), cost-effectiveness, and the likelihood of success all taken into account.
Ultimately, five potential schemes were put forward: refurbishing the St Aloysius or St Illtyd’s campuses; refurbishing Goetre Primary; constructing a new 210-place school at Goetre (plus nursery provision); or building a larger 420-place facility at the same location. Following a thorough evaluation, the council settled on building a new 210-place school, viewing it as the optimal approach to meet demand without creating unnecessary surplus places.
The report also notes that the selected option complies with up-to-date educational building standards. Crucially, the Goetre site remains flexible, allowing the potential for further expansion to accommodate up to 420 pupils should demand increase in the future.
While the council’s decision marks significant progress, completion of the new school building is not expected before September 2032. To address the short-term need for Welsh-medium provision, three temporary options were considered. Refurbishing St Aloysius primary campus by 2027 emerged as the best-value option, providing sufficient space for up to 160 pupils after planned updates.
Financially, the project commands a substantial investment. The anticipated cost for the new build is £12.35 million, with £8.25 million funded by the Welsh Government and the remaining £4.1 million coming from council coffers. An additional £3.2 million of government funding will support the refurbishment of St Aloysius as well as improvements at Safle’r Gurnos, a satellite of Ysgol Santes Tudful.
Councillor Gareth Lewis, the cabinet member overseeing education, emphasised the wider significance of this development. He described it not only as an expansion of educational infrastructure but also as a tangible commitment to nurturing the Welsh language and offering families meaningful choices for their children’s education.
As Merthyr Tydfil looks towards the future with these developments, it becomes clear that the authority is making concerted efforts to promote the Welsh language and meet evolving educational demands in the region. The decisions taken are undoubtedly set to shape the linguistic landscape for generations of learners.