Plans for £30m state-of-the art school unveiled

Plans have been unveiled for a new 'super school' for Wales, set to be located on the former ';Valleywood' site near Bridgend.

Developers of the proposed co-educational independent school are currently submitting plans for permission to build the £30m school on a 30 acre site in Llanilid, between Llantrisant and Pencoed.

To be designed by the Wales Millennium Centre architect Jonathan Adams, the proposed school has received the input of leading educationalists Anthony Seldon, Master of Wellington College, Berkshire and Roger Trafford, educational consultant and former Headmaster of The Dragon School, Oxford.

With only a handful of schools in Wales that transcend its borders, the founders have ambitions of St David’s Academy being a landmark school for Wales, such as England and Scotland have had for many years, a school that combines excellence in all-round education with a Celtic tradition. Set to accommodate up to 750 4-18 year olds, the innovative, leading edge school will focus on those themes at the heart of contemporary Wales: music, the arts, technology and its main sport of rugby, and will deliver the excellent academic standards expected of such a school. Students will experience an education unique to Wales: a curriculum that nurtures creativity, enterprise and self-discovery.

While it aims to set new standards for attainment in the traditional core subjects, excellence in music, drama, art and sports will be valued just as highly. It will support the Welsh and the International Baccalaureates alongside GCSE and A Level qualifications, but the pre-eminent qualification will be its own St David’s Academy Diploma.

With a holistic approach attractive to students from around the world, the Academy expects quickly to establish an international profile. The founders believe that a culturally diverse school community is central to its mission to produce new ‘ambassadors’ for both Wales and our broader society: future generations committed to the long-term prosperity and sustainability of the nation and the planet.

The Academy will be a predominantly day school but with boarding faculties for up to 100 students, including the increasingly popular flexi-boarding. Day fees will be in the region of £2,900 per term for the Lower School and from £4,250 for the Upper School.

As a charity, the Academy will offer bursaries and scholarships to talented children, primarily within the day-school catchment area such as the South Wales Valleys, who could not otherwise afford to attend. The school will boast state-of-the-art rugby facilities, including an indoor multi-media rugby barn that will be amongst the best in the northern hemisphere.

Designed by Jonathan Humphreys, coach of the Ospreys and former captain of Wales, it is hoped that these resources, dubbed ‘The Rugby Academy’, will be harnessed to benefit not just St David’s Academy students but the broader rugby community, providing a dedicated facility for the development of both players and coaches.

The school will also feature dedicated art, music and drama studios, recording and TV/radio studios and two flexible performance spaces, incorporating Jonathan Adams’ design experience from the Wales Millennium Centre.

The project is the brainchild of Cardiff born David Brook who has drawn on years of both corporate and academic experience to make this vision a reality.

Brook has been instrumental in bringing together the key partners of the project, particularly experienced school constructor Cowlin Construction, a Balfour Beatty company. Two of Wales’ leading rugby players, Shane Williams and Ryan Jones, have also pledged their support to the school and will be closely involved in both the development of the school and its rugby offering.

David Brook commented: “We are building a school of which Wales can be proud, a school that reflects its history and will determine its future, and an environment where our children can grow into adults capable of making a meaningful and valuable contribution to society.

“Wales is changing. Economically, we are seeing the benefits of projects such as the development of Cardiff Bay and the inward investment of businesses and skills into a post-industrial Wales. In the major conurbations, we are becoming more affluent. We are investing in our infrastructure and politically we are finding our voice in our own governance.

“Educationally, we should be moving in the same direction. Yet, at primary and secondary level, this is not the case. We have a handful of good schools, some excellent, some oversubscribed, but they are not enough. Wales does not possess the sort of landmark school that other countries have, a school of world renown that provides its students with a breadth and depth of education that sets the benchmark for others.

“Furthermore, the changes in the educational landscape of Wales, especially the demise of Grammar schools, has not supported the development of rugby in schools. Increasingly, as government cuts take effect, fewer schools will have the resources to play top quality rugby or finances to invest in the newer training techniques that wealthier English schools and clubs possess.

“To have the support of the Welsh rugby captain and Wales’ leading try scorer has been a huge boost to project. The school will deliver a complete academic experience for pupils, but sport and the Welsh passion for rugby will clearly be a core offering of the school.”

Ospreys and Wales rugby captain Ryan Jones added: “As a nation our passion for rugby is well known, so this project represents a great opportunity to be able to provide a specialist rugby school for Wales. School rugby is often the place where youngsters sample competitive rugby for the first time and it is important that the skills learnt through rugby are nurtured from a young age. The scope for educating students through rugby as a medium is vast and its potential is limitless. Students at St David’s Academy can learn the technical and physical aspects of rugby as well as the nutritional, psychological and cultural elements of the game. I’m delighted to be putting my support behind this new school and would be proud to send my children here in the future.”

The search for an outstanding Headteacher with the qualities required to lead the Academy has already begun. Other staff will be appointed over the next year with the help of educational search specialists. Construction of the school is expected to start towards the end of 2010 with the first students attending September 2012.