A new chapter for Welsh-medium education at Ysgol Gymraeg Iolo Morganwg Primary School

The design looks beyond the traditional classroom to create a learning environment that encourages collaboration, curiosity and connection whilst supporting the Welsh curriculum. The development will include a Welsh language immersion centre, helping strengthen opportunities for both young people and the wider community.

Flexible learning settings are woven into widened circulation areas, transforming corridors into active places for collaboration, creating a vibrant communal spine. At the heart of the school, a welcoming and adaptable library brings pupils together, fostering curiosity, creativity and a love of learning across all age groups.

Natural light plays an important role in the schools design. Clerestory glazing and large lightwells draw daylight deep into the building, creating bright, uplifting spaces throughout. Alongside supporting wellbeing, this thoughtful approach to daylight helps create an environment where pupils and staff feel comfortable, focused and inspired during the school day.

Designing with sustainability at the heart

Targeting net-zero operational carbon, the school’s low embodied carbon construction reflects the wider design ethos of environmental responsibility and a deep connection to nature.

This approach reflects a wider shift in how we think about educational buildings. Schools have an important role to play in responding to the climate emergency, but they also provide an opportunity to help young people understand and experience sustainability through the places where they learn every day. At Ysgol Gymraeg Iolo Morganwg, this thinking extends beyond the building itself.

Learning beyond the classroom

Some of the most valuable learning can happen outside the classroom, which is why the landscape plays such an important role in the project.

A dedicated forest school and sensory trail will create opportunities for pupils to explore, play and discover in different ways. These spaces will support outdoor learning while encouraging curiosity, independence and wellbeing.

The landscape has been designed to feel like an extension of the school rather than simply an area around the building. By creating varied environments for learning, play, reflection and social interaction, the campus can support different needs and learning styles throughout the school day.

Rich in native planting, the landscape has been thoughtfully designed to celebrate the local ecology, strengthening biodiversity and creating meaningful connections between pupils and the local environment.

Ysgol Gymraeg Iolo Morganwg primary school is a fantastic example of how thoughtful design can sustainably support learning and the local community for generations to come.