Merthyr consults on third Welsh primary at temporary site in 2027

Merthyr Tydfil council is consulting on creating a third Welsh-medium primary school, opening as a separate school at temporary premises from September 2027. The proposal would turn the existing Safle’r Gurnos provision, currently a satellite of Ysgol Gymraeg Santes Tudful, into a maintained school for children aged three to 11 in the north of the county borough. The consultation runs from 19 October until 29 November. A final decision has not been made.

Two sites and two capacity stages

The council’s consultation document proposes an initial base at the former St Aloysius Primary School. While there, it would have 105 places from Reception to Year 6, 20 full-time-equivalent nursery places and an annual admission number of 15. The long-term plan is for 210 primary places, 40 full-time-equivalent nursery places and an admission number of 30. Those larger totals should not be read as the number of places available at the temporary site in September 2027. A permanent new building at the former Goetre Primary School site is anticipated for September 2032. The document makes that date subject to business-case approvals and continuing capital-investment review. It is a planned next stage, rather than a guaranteed opening.

What would change for pupils?

Children already attending Safle’r Gurnos would transfer into the appropriate year group when the separate school opened. The proposal allows the first cohort to progress into Year 3, while nursery and Reception admissions would begin in September 2027. Pupil numbers and staffing would grow progressively. The school would also provide a dedicated base for Trochi Hwyr, the council’s late Welsh-language immersion provision for learners in Years 1 to 6. This would continue to serve the whole county borough. An intended federation with Ysgol Gymraeg Santes Tudful and an executive-headteacher model would require separate statutory processes. The consultation does not by itself approve those governance arrangements or settle the new school’s final name.

How to have your say

The council asks respondents to read both its consultation document and Integrated Impact Assessment, linked from the consultation page, before using the response form. Views must be submitted in writing using that form, including when residents attend a drop-in discussion. The deadline is midnight on Sunday 29 November. Written consultation responses will be considered before Cabinet decides whether to publish a statutory notice. If the proposal reaches that stage, anyone wishing to make a statutory objection would need to respond again during the later objection period.