Cardiff Council has awarded the contract for a new school building worth over £60 million. The main build of the new Willows High School has been assigned to Morgan Sindall Construction. The current school, located in Willows Avenue in Tremorfa, will be relocated to a new site on land previously occupied by Splott Market, situated 1km away at the bottom of Lewis Road. The construction is anticipated to be completed by the 2026-27 academic year.
The new school building, valued at more than £60 million, is designed to include facilities such as a sports hall, gym, drama studio, and grass pitches that will be open for public use outside of school hours. A report from the council earlier this year highlighted that the current building had a maintenance backlog exceeding £3.8 million in 2017 and was in a deteriorating state. The existing Willows school, constructed 50 years ago, was only intended to last around half of that time and has been in poor condition for a number of years.
Approximately 44% of the students at Willows High School qualify for free school meals, significantly higher than the national average of 17%. Additionally, around 68% of pupils reside in the 20% most deprived areas in Wales. Under the Band B, Sustainable Communities for Learning programme by Cardiff Council and Welsh Government, the current dilapidated school will transition to the new premises. The new school will accommodate 900 pupils aged 11 to 16, along with a 30-place special resource base for students with complex learning needs.
In May, Cardiff Council’s planning committee approved the construction of the new school on land off Lewis Road in Splott. Preparatory work involved clearing contaminated material following ground disturbance and demolishing existing buildings on Portmanmor Road and at the Splott Market site. Headteacher Chris Norman expressed enthusiasm for the news, stating that the Willows community looks forward to collaborating with Cardiff Council and Morgan Sindall to establish a school that delivers outstanding learning facilities for students and benefits the local communities.
The anticipated completion date for the new school is the 2026/27 academic year, as announced by Cardiff Council. The relocation and redevelopment of Willows High School signify a significant investment in education infrastructure in Cardiff, aimed at providing a conducive learning environment for students in the years to come.