Cabinet approve Outline Business Case for new school building for Sennybridge

8 April 2025

Plans to build a new school building for south Powys pupils have taken a step forward after the council's Cabinet gave the go-ahead to submit an Outline Business Case to the Welsh Government.

Powys County Council is planning to build a new 120-place primary school to replace Sennybridge C.P. School's current building.

Today (Tuesday, April 8) Cabinet approved the Outline Business Case, which will now be submitted to the Welsh Government for their approval.

Cabinet also gave approval for an options paper to be developed to explore moving the school along the Welsh language continuum due to the increase in the proportion of pupils at the school choosing Welsh-medium education in recent years, however discussions with the school will take place to support this.

The plans will help the council deliver its Strategy for Transforming Education in Powys and its Welsh in Education Strategic Plan.

Cllr Pete Roberts, Cabinet Member for a Learning Powys, said: "Sennybridge C.P. School's existing building is not suitable to meet the needs of a 21st Century curriculum or meet the well-being needs of pupils.

"The new school for Sennybridge will provide facilities that the children deserves and will enable the curriculum to be delivered in a continuous and coherent way from the Foundation Stage through to the end of Key Stage 2. Early years childcare provision can be co-located onto one site as part of these plans.

"If the Outline Business Case is approved by both Cabinet and Welsh Government, this would represent another huge investment in our school infrastructure.

"We will also start looking at the possibility of moving Sennybridge C.P. School along the Welsh language continuum, which could mean that, in future, all pupils attending the school would become fully bilingual - fluent in Welsh and English.

"However, whilst we have had some initial discussions about these plans with the school leadership, proposals to change the school's language category remain at an early stage. This will require a formal consultation with the school community, the wider community and other key stakeholders before any changes are implemented."

For more information about Transforming Education in Powys, visit Transforming Education

To find out more about Welsh-medium education in Powys, visit Welsh-medium education