Construction Begins on Rhosafan's New £29m Primary School

Morgan Sindall Construction’s Wales business has commenced construction of Rhosafan Welsh Medium Primary School (Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Rhosafan), having been appointed to deliver the project by Neath Port Talbot Council.

The start of works was marked with a turf cutting ceremony on site, attended by Councillor Nia Jenkins, Cabinet Member for Education & Early Years; Councillor Steve Hunt, Leader of Neath Port Talbot Council; Councillor Robert Wood, Local Member for Sandfields West; Martin Bennett, Senior Project Manager at Morgan Sindall; and Rob Williams, Area Director for Morgan Sindall Construction in Wales.

Also in attendance were Andres Street and Chollada Davies from Arcadia Architects, and Lianne Bushrod from Stantec civil and structural engineering.

The occasion was made all the more special by a performance from pupils, who entertained guests with several songs to celebrate the milestone.

The £29m project will provide 420 school places for pupils aged three to 11, including 90 nursery places, 12 additional learning needs (ALN) places, and 16 places within a dedicated Welsh Immersion Unit.

Appointed through the South West Wales Regional Contractors Framework, the project will be delivered in two phases and is scheduled for completion in 2028.

The new school will feature 14 classrooms from Reception to Year 6, two ALN classrooms, a childcare and nursery facility, and a staff room.

The community space will include two training rooms, a community room, access to kitchen, five meeting rooms and a dance studio.

The external space includes three external MUGA pitches for children to enjoy, landscape areas to provide relaxing areas and Forest School area and mile walk that will intertwine through the landscape area connecting to the Forest school. Externally, the tier one contractor is building a 110-space car park using permeable surfacing and bio-retention rain gardens to support sustainable drainage.

In addition, Morgan Sindall will deliver a two-storey, 810m² steel-frame structure alongside a single-storey timber-frame building to create a unique winter garden. This unheated, covered space has been designed to encourage learning and play through interaction with nature, providing year-round outdoor engagement regardless of weather conditions.

The school has been designed in line with the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Schools Challenge – a pioneering initiative exploring how schools can be designed and delivered with full involvement from learners, staff, and the wider community, while achieving net zero carbon in operation and creating future-ready learning environments.

Neath Port Talbot Council has successfully secured Welsh Government funding for the scheme, which is one of three schools selected to pilot the Sustainable Schools Challenge concept.

The new school will target BREEAM “Outstanding”, “Secure by Design”, and Carbon Net Zero standards, while its external spaces will align with Better Building principles and achieve Building with Nature accreditation.

Designed collaboratively with Arcadia Architects, Stantec civil, structural and MEP engineering, Fenton Reece landscape architecture, Arda Sustainability, Asbri Planning Consultants, Part B Fire Consultants, and Formant Acoustics, the school will utilise a timber and steel frame structure to reduce embodied carbon while providing flexibility, durability and long-term performance.

In line with Morgan Sindall’s commitment to sustainability, the completed school will be net zero in operation, powered by photovoltaic panels and a centralised air source heat pump plant located on the roof. The building will also benefit from underfloor heating and a building management system, enabling night-time purge ventilation to optimise energy efficiency and occupant comfort.

Morgan Sindall will also undertake its 10 Tonne Challenge on the project, working closely with consultants and supply chain partners to identify innovative construction solutions that collectively remove at least 10 tonnes of carbon from the build process.

Delivering meaningful social value is a core priority for this project, as Morgan Sindall is committed to onboarding a minimum of eight apprentices and work placement students throughout the works at Rhosafan Welsh Medium Primary School, providing the next generation of construction professionals with valuable, hands-on experience on a live construction site. In addition, the project team will welcome site visits from the Primary School, local secondary schools, and the NPTC Group of Colleges, offering insight into the wide range of careers available within the industry and a first-hand look at day-to-day site operations.