News
Jane Davidson AM to officially open new Willowtown Primary School
( Last Updated: 12-11-2007 )
Jane Davidson, Welsh Assembly Minister for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills, will be officially opening the brand new Willowtown Primary School building on Wednesday 7th March.
The school was opened to pupils at the start of term in January, with the children being welcomed into a brand new, state-of-the-art building on a site just above the old, Victorian-era school.
The £5m building has been designed by architects from Blaenau Gwent Council’s Technical Services to be as environmentally friendly as possible, with an energy-efficient boiler, high levels of insulation, ‘intelligent’ controls for services and lighting, recycled flooring, and recyclable building products. The design provides natural ventilation by roof-mounted flues, and maximises natural light with roof lights.
Head teacher Robert Gardner said: “The pupils and the staff are really pleased with our new school. The building is a huge change from the old school, being very light and spacious, and the facilities like the interactive whiteboards in each class room and the sprung floor in the gym hall are just such a leap forward.
“We’ve actually found that the new building also seems to have had a positive effect on the overall behaviour of the children – this term they seem to have been calmer, and more focussed on classroom activities, which I hope is a permanent development!”
The school was built to the demanding specification by Midas in South Wales. Attending the opening event Divisional Director of Midas Construction Dave Haskell said: “We are delighted to have delivered this first class facility to the local community. The entire project has been characterised by team effort and a partnership approach, and we are extremely pleased with the result.”
Midas Construction is one of four companies within the Midas Group, which is one of the UK's fastest growing, independent providers of property solutions, and has 30 years’ experience offering a complete range of construction and property related services both in the private and public sectors.
Councillor Gill Clark, Blaenau Gwent Council’s Executive Member with responsibility for education, said: “The new school at Willowtown is part of our continuing programme of improvement to school buildings and facilities. We want to provide the very best learning environments possible for our children and young people, and it’s very rewarding to see the children of Willowtown enjoying the benefits of their new facilities.”
