Leading North Wales private school starts £1 million redevelopment

AN AWARD-WINNING North Wales independent school is creating a new state-of-the-art sixth form centre as part of a major £1 million redevelopment programme.

Myddelton College in Denbigh, which opened in 2016 and is one of the newest private schools in the country, is already up to 360 students and includes a thriving preparatory school for four- to 11-year-olds.

It has won awards for Outstanding International Involvement and for Outstanding Sport in a Small School at the prestigious Independent Schools Awards.

The latest works have begun with a makeover of Thomas Howell House completed, including the sixth form male and female boarding accommodation in double rooms as well as separate common areas for them.

St George’s House is also being refurbished as a junior boarding house along with the creation of a new sixth form centre in the heart of the school which is currently in the planning and design stage.

Painting and decorating work is due to start with the major construction work and renovation of roofing areas scheduled to take place in the summer holidays and to be completed in time for the start of the next school year in September.

Myddelton College Headmaster Andrew Allman said: “Since the school opened in 2016 we have carried out a phased programme of renovation works to bring Myddelton College fully up to date.

“This is the latest stage of this programme but it will not be the last with further works in the pipeline with the intention of creating a centre of excellence for learning for boarders and for our day students.

“The new sixth form centre is our new bespoke accommodation for higher education and will feature a large common room with facilities for group study as well as areas for individuals to work.

“These have included improvements to the gym and the restoration of the tennis courts and the Equestrian Centre, originally opened by Princess Anne, an Olympic gold medallist herself, in 1986.

“We also opened the prep school for four to 11-year-olds in September 2022 and in just 15 months we have seen numbers there grow to 60 which was a doubling of the numbers on the previous year.

“For the school as a whole it is a very exciting time with the potential to grow further. We already have pupils from across the world with 96 boarders from 21 different nations as well as the UK.”

Main contractor for the work at Thomas Howell House was Ruthin-based construction company G Parry Home Improvements Ltd whose managing director, Mike Hall, said: “As a local business in Ruthin, just eight miles away, we were excited to be invited to work on the renovation of Thomas Howell House.

“It was built in the late 1920s as a sanatorium for the girls of the former Howells School and it was interesting to work on this large and unusual Art Deco-style property.

“We are proud to have been involved in maintaining this historic house for Myddelton College.”

Myddelton College, an independent co-educational day and boarding school, is the only school in North Wales with a 5G network.

The school currently has 360 pupils, 96 of them boarders, and 70 staff, 35 of them teachers and Mr Allman added: “We want to provide a well-rounded education and give all our pupils a breadth of opportunities, indoors and outdoors, including the chance to work with and form bonds with people and countries all over the world.

“I want it to be a calm, kind, happy school where pupils have mutual respect and can thrive and reach their goals.

“The school has integrated into the local community very well and we encourage local organisations to make use of our facilities here and the list of those that do includes the local football and rugby clubs, dance groups, a boxing club and the Scouts.”

For more information about Myddelton College go to https://www.myddeltoncollege.com/