FINAL preparations are being made by two Ruthin primary schools ahead of the opening of a brand new site.

A total of 428 pupils from Ysgol Pen Barras and Rhos Street School will move to the new 11.2million site on Tuesday, April 10.

The new building will mean better shared facilities between Rhos Street and Pen Barras, with more modern resources and outdoor areas to encourage independent learning. The school will also have a modern hall and a music room.

Council officers have been working closely with the two schools to plan for the opening. Parents will receive a further newsletter, while staff will be on hand on the first day to ensure everything runs smoothly.

The project is funded by Denbighshire County Council and the Welsh Government, through their 21st Century Schools programme, with Wynne Construction the main contractor for the building work.

The Council’s modernising education programme is part of the authority’s corporate priority to create communities where young people choose to live, work and learn.

Cllr Huw Hilditch-Roberts, cabinet lead member for Education, Children, Young People and the Welsh Language, said: “The final preparations are now being made at the new school and teachers and students are looking forward to their first day in their brand-new school.

“This school marks a significant investment in education in the Ruthin area. It will benefit students for many years to come and it is fantastic to see these plans come to fruition.

“This project will help us achieve our corporate priority to ensure young people are being supported to achieve their potential and have modern school facilities that further enhance their learning.

“I’d like to thank Wynne Construction and the sub-contractors involved for their excellent work in progressing this project.”

Ruthin is the latest to receive funding for modern education as part of the Council’s modernising education programme, which has already seen more than £56million of investment in schools in the county. This includes new buildings for Rhyl High and Ysgol Tir Morfa, as well significant improvement works at Bodnant Community School, Prestatyn, Ysgol Glan Clwyd and St Asaph, with more projects still in the pipeline.

Mark Jones, headteacher of Pen Barras, said: “We are so excited to be moving to the new location as the new facilities will be a huge help to the children. Our move is long overdue, with 60 per cent of our students learning in porter cabins.”

Bryn Jones, headteacher of Rhos Street School, in a letter addressed to parents upon the school’s closure, said: “It seems a long time since May 2013, when we were informed of the proposal to build on a new site for both schools on the other side of town.”

Mr Jones said the school community is “bracing itself with a mixture of sadness and excitement at leaving the old behind while embracing the new.”

Mr Jones continued: “This school is steeped in its history, with the old traditional and distinctive building being a wonderful home to over 170 years of education. Thousands of pupils and hundreds of staff have all collaborated in a positive educational environment over many generations. This longevity, is a testament to the importance of this school to the town of Ruthin over recent centuries.”

“While we may be moving buildings, we are and will remain the same school, with the same values, principles and aims. We have the same mission to provide opportunity, realise potential and enrich learners together and this vision will prevail and drive us forward.”

Rhos Street School will be moving to a new location after 170 years in its previous building.

Sharon Roberts, parent to Melissa, aged 6, in Rhos Street School’s Year 1 class, said: “The modern facilities will be better for the children. They’re really excited about the move.

“The children will be going with all their friends and teachers. We might miss the old school and its old feel, and the new one will be very modern but, once the children make paintings that go on the walls, it will feel like home.”