Swansea school upgrade project in line for major award

Morriston Comprehensive School’s multi-million pound refurbishment is in the running for a major accolade.

The £22m project has been shortlisted in the RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) 2016 Awards for its community benefits.

The school was officially reopened by Sir Terry Matthews last July after an upgrade project that included state-of-the-art classrooms, a drama theatre, a meeting area, better energy efficiency and the introduction of cutting edge information and communications technology.

Community benefits included employment, apprenticeship and work experience opportunities for local people during construction, thanks to initiatives like Swansea Council’s Beyond Bricks and Mortar programme, as well as the South West Wales regional shared apprentice scheme. Project trainees included the long-term unemployed and college starters needing help getting a placement.

Other community benefits include a new theatre facility that’s available for use by the local community, a town square space for large community events and the availability of vocational hairdressing facilities to the public.

Morriston Comprehensive School’s refurbishment was funded by the Welsh Government and Swansea Council. The design and construction team included Carillion, Stride Treglown and Mott McDonald.

Swansea Council’s education and corporate building and property services teams worked in close partnership on the scheme.

Cllr Jen Raynor, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, said: “The rebuild of Morriston Comprehensive School has delivered a wonderful, state-of-the-art, new education facility. It’s been a hugely positive experience for pupils, staff, parents and the wider community. Everyone can see the resulting 21st century school environment will support the council’s priorities for years to come, including our drive to improve wellbeing and raise educational attainment.”

Cllr Andrea Lewis, Cabinet Member for Next Generation Services, said: “This project hasn’t just been beneficial to pupils and staff at the school. It’s also been a terrific boost for the nearby community because of the training and work experience opportunities it opened up during construction, as well as the availability of several new facilities for community use.

“This has been a flagship project in terms of energy efficiency and community use, so our staff and everyone involved deserve huge praise for their work.”

The 1,100-pupil school remained open for lessons during its refurbishment. The project also led to Swansea Council collecting a Constructing Excellence Wales ‘Client of the Year’ award.