15-11-07
Newport City Council released the following press statement today:
Newport City Council is proposing that a new Welsh-medium primary school is established in the city.
Newport’s second Welsh-medium primary will be created at a temporary location at the former site of St David Lewis RC Primary School, subject to negotiations with the Archdiocese Commission for Schools which owns the land.
The school will open with a nursery, reception and year-1 class in September 2008. The school will be based at the temporary location until a permanent site is identified.
The cabinet member for young people’s services, councillor Bob Poole, said: “We are committed to providing Welsh-medium education to pupils within a reasonable distance of their homes.
“The creation of this new school will improve our education provisions in the city for parents who wish for their children to be taught through the medium of the Welsh language.
“This is an exciting expansion of Welsh-medium education in the west of the city and it reflects the ambitions that we have for making Newport a modern and vibrant city for all its residents.”
In 2006, the council consulted with all parents of children between one and two-years-old, to assess the demand for Welsh-medium education in the city.
This exercise showed sufficient demand for the creation of a second Welsh-medium primary school in the city, and the council will shortly begin a period of consultation on the opening of the new school.
Councillor Poole continued: “This announcement is part of our on-going work to ensure that Newport youngsters are given the best possible start in life.
“It shows our commitment to extending and improving Welsh-medium education in the city and it will help us ensure that our pupils receive the standard of education they deserve.”
The city’s first Welsh-medium primary school, Ysgol Gymraeg Casnewydd, opened in 1993.
For more information about the new Welsh-medium primary school, write to the chief education officer, Civic Centre, Newport, NP20 4UR.
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