| Project Name | Ysgol Santes Dwynwen |
| Project Location | Newborough, Anglesey |
| Project Start Date | September 2017 |
| Practical Completion | March 2019 |
| Contract Value | £5.7m |
| QS/Cost Consultant | Landscape Architect - Capita |
| Structural Engineer | Kier Services |
| Electrical/Mechanical Engineer | Building Services Engineers – Atkins |
| Contractor | Wynne Construction |
| Building Control | Anglesey County Council Building Control |
| Architect | Isle of Anglesey In-House Architectural Design Team |
| Engineer | QS - AA Projects |
Project of the Year 2021 Winner
Project Overview
As part of the 21st Century Schools modernisation programme on Anglesey, this scheme deals with the schools in South West Anglesey and will consist of the construction of a new area school to replace the four schools within the villages of Newborough, Llangaffo, Dwran and Bodorgan and transferring the pupils to a new build area school in Newborough.
The new school is a Community School and a Church in Wales School housing up to 180 pupils and 25 nursery places as well as a Child Care Unit.
The design concept for Ysgol Santes Dwynwen is linked to the historical contextual concept of the Llys Rhosyr site outside the village of Newborough. The surviving remains of Llys Rhosyr were excavated by the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust between 1992 and 1996 and was the Royal Court of the Princes of Gwynedd used during the 13th century. The Llys was the administrative centre of princely power in medieval Wales. In Gwynedd alone there were 22 such Llysoedd consisting of enclosures containing halls, a kitchen, stables, a barn, a privy and kennels. None of these courts survive above ground, but they are known from written records and archaeological excavations. Llys Rhosyr is the most complete of these excavations and its overall plan was revealed by geophysical survey. There were three structures on the site – one large main hall and two smaller halls. The halls have recently been re-constructed at the National Museum of Wales’ St Fagans site.
The footprints, scale and relationship of the halls have been used as the key design elements within the new architectural design for the new school. The main hall will house the school hall and the two smaller halls will house the community rooms and the kitchen facilities. The offsets and angular setting out of the halls for the school are a direct replica of the historical Llys Rhosyr.
The design also provides a transparent building. A central Learning Street passes along the length of the building – with full-height glazing at either end to allow a clear view right through the building to all pupils, staff and visitors.
The new school building is highly sustainable and constructed using a SIPS Panel system for the main building structural wall panels. SIPS are Structural insulated Panels – constructed off-site, therefore resulting in zero-waste construction and low embodied energy, with reduced costs and time on site.
BIM Technology was used throughout the design and constructing phases.
Community Benefits were a key requirement on the scheme which provided 14 apprentices, 165 training weeks, creating 7 new jobs and 1,372 of school pupil interactions. The project also used 30% of workforce from the local postcode area and 57% of workforce from within Wales. 59% project spend was to Welsh SMEs with a Welsh multiplier for Ysgol Santes Dwynwen of £1.68 on the overall investment.
