Cantonian High School, Riverbank School and Woodlands High School will be rebuilt and expanded on a single site
CARDIFF Council has chosen a company to design and build the city’s first net zero carbon education campus.
The plan will see three schools, Cantonian High, Riverbank and Woodlands High, combined and moved onto the existing Cantonian site in Fairwater.
Work is expected to begin in 2023, subject to planning and procurement.
Cantonian High School buildings will be expanded to eight forms of entry from six, with sixth form provision for up to 250 students.
The plan also includes the expansion of the specialist resource base for learners with an autism spectrum condition to 30 places.
Woodlands High School and Riverbank School will be relocated to the Fairwater Campus site from their current site next to Trelai Park, with increased capacities of 240 and 112 places, respectively.
The project will be the largest, in scale and investment, brought forward under Cardiff Council and Welsh Governments Sustainable Communities for Learning programme. The development will house more than 2,000 pupils and staff.
Deputy leader of Cardiff Council, and Cabinet Member for Education, Employment and Skills, Sarah Merry, said: “The Fairwater campus will be Cardiff’s first joint educational campus of its kind and awarding the design contract is an exciting milestone.
“The campus will be one of the most educationally advanced institutions in the UK, bringing together three very different schools each with their own identity, on one site and providing a distinct combination of learning which will allow each school to share facilities, expertise and teaching opportunities, providing an exceptional experience for students, staff and the community.”
It is Cardiff’s first school campus to be net zero carbon when in operation, and it will also aim to significantly reduce embodied carbon during building.
Richard Skone, regional director for ISG’s construction business in Wales, which won the contract, said: “The scale and ambition of this pioneering project is transformative both from an educational co-location perspective and its operationally net zero carbon commitment and targets for reducing embodied carbon.
“When we also factor in our collective focus on driving social value legacy from this considerable community investment, Fairwater campus is undoubtedly one of the most eagerly anticipated exemplar projects for smart and ethical development in Wales today.”
ISG will undertake the detailed design and build process for the scheme, including the temporary accommodation associated with the works.
The campus will also offer facilities available for public use outside of school hours, but these have not yet been been specified.
The plans have received a mixed reaction from local residents.
Helen Witcombe was full of praise for the new design plans, she said: “A very art nouveau architectural design, let’s hope this indeed indicates a new approach towards a new era.”
But Debbie Walsh believes there are still questions to be answered.
“The plans look lovely but what provision has been put in place for the minibuses and taxis bringing and picking up the pupils from Riverbank and Woodlands? she said.
“What effect will it have on the growing traffic on St Fagans Road especially with the housing development in St Fagans.”
Cardiff Council’s proposals are:
- Replacing the Cantonian High School buildings with new build accommodation on the same site expanding the school from six forms of entry to eight with sixth form provision for up to 250 pupils;
- Expanding the specialist resource base for learners with an autism spectrum condition hosted at Cantonian High School to 30 places in purpose built accommodation;
- Relocating Woodlands High School to the Fairwater Campus from its current site next to Trelai Park and increasing the capacity to 240 places in new build accommodation;
- Relocating Riverbank School to the Fairwater Campus from its current site next to Trelai Park, and increasing the capacity to 112 places in new build accommodation.
To learn more about Cardiff Council’s One Planet Strategy visit here.
