SOUTH PEMBROKESHIRE’S first Welsh-medium primary school has been officially opened by the Minister for Lifelong Learning and Welsh Language, Alun Davies AM.
Ysgol Hafan y Môr in Tenby opened its doors to pupils in September and is the result of extensive refurbishment and modification works to the old Tenby junior school.
It is next door to the English-medium Tenby Church in Wales VC Primary School, a new build which also opened last autumn.
The two schools represent an £8.37 million investment in education in the town and were built under the 21st Century Schools Programme – a collaboration between Pembrokeshire County Council and the Welsh Government who are sharing the funding.
Ysgol Hafan y Môr has been established in response to a growing demand for Welsh-medium education in the area and has capacity for 210 pupils plus 30 FTE nursery place.
It currently has 126 pupils on roll and the number is steadily growing.
Mr Davies was welcomed to the school on Monday (13th February) by Council Chairman, Tony Brinsden, and headteacher Mrs Victoria Hart-Griffiths along with chair of governors, Ms Julie Jones.
Mrs Hart-Griffiths said that 95 per cent of the school’s pupils came from a non-Welsh speaking background, while Ms Jones described it as “an historic day” for Welsh-medium education in the area.
Before unveiling a plaque, Mr Davies said he was grateful to the County Council for the work they had undertaken in Welsh-medium education, adding that the Welsh Government believed it was the birthright of every child in Wales to have the opportunity to speak and write the language.
The Minister later toured classrooms and met pupils and teaching staff.
Ysgol Hafan y Môr was designed by the County Council’s in-house design team and the refurbishment undertaken by Andrew Scott Limited.
