Pupils’ first day at ‘awesome’ new school

It’s awesome!”…that’s the view of pupils at Llanelli’s latest new school.

Ysgol Ffwrnes threw open its doors to pupils for the first time today, months ahead of schedule

The £14.6million primary school has been built as part of Carmarthenshire County Council’s Modernising Education Programme, and headteacher Catherine Lloyd Jenkins was the first to welcome pupils for their first day at the new school this morning.

For many, it was the first time they’d laid eyes on it, whilst several older pupils – who have been involved in the design and build stages – were pleased to see the project complete.

“There’s been a lot of excitement, but we’re settling in very well,” said Mrs Lloyd Jenkins.

The excitement of the day was summed up by year four pupils Austin Jones, Ifan Wheeler and Rowan Morris.

Austin, aged nine, said: “It’s nice – I love the smell of it! And the carpets are really colourful.”

Comparing it to his old school, which has now been decommissioned, Ifan, eight, said: “It’s more beautiful – it’s awesome!”

And Rowan, aged eight, added: “I was scared this morning – I thought I might get lost! This school is way bigger – it’s about five times bigger than the old one

The new Ysgol Ffwrnes, built by Llanelli-based firm WRW Ltd, has been funded by a £10.22million Welsh Government grant and £4.38million from the council’s capital programme.

The Welsh medium school is a two form entry for 420 children, plus a nursery, and will help manage the increasing demand for Welsh medium education in the Llanelli area.

It is already one of the most ground-breaking schools in Wales, having become the first BREEAM outstanding school in Wales during design stage due to its high environmentally-friendly features, including rainwater harvesting, external planting areas, solar panels and renewable energy sources.

Executive board member for education, Cllr Keith Davies, said: “It is absolutely wonderful to see the children here, enjoying their new surroundings. I, and other members of the Executive Board, were thrilled to have a guided tour of the school by the headteacher, and to see the excitement on the children’s faces was fantastic. This is yet another shining example of the difference we are making to children’s futures here in Carmarthenshire through the Modernising Education Programme.”

Today was also an emotional day for year two teacher Mererid Govier, who has taught at Ysgol Ffwrnes for 10 years. She said: “I was quite sad leaving the old building – my aunt was deputy head there years ago, my grandmother was one of the first pupils, and my dad was a pupil there too. But it’s lovely to have so much space – we were quite cramped in the old building. It is very exciting for us, and we’re very fortunate to have these brand new surroundings with new IT equipment. The children have been fantastic – very excited, but good as well.”