Morgan Sindall has been appointed by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council to deliver a new carbon-neutral school in Wales
Morgan Sindall was appointed to deliver the new carbon-neutral contract for Pen Y Dre High School last summer, after being funded by the Welsh government as part of its Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme. The programme aims to invest in and improve educational facilities.
Recently, MPs have called for a cut in building demolitions to save carbon and to focus on retrofit and the reuse of buildings.
The carbon-neutral school was awarded through South East & Mid Wales Collaborative Construction’s £1bn framework.
CarboniCa will be used to construct the zero carbon school
Morgan Sindall’s carbon reduction tool CarboniCa will be used to construct the carbon-neutral school. It will help Morgan Sindall to support its customers in decarbonising local communities.
CarboniCa is part of Morgan Sindall’s Intelligent Solutions approach, and brings together digital and platform design with MMC to create unique, sustainable, and inspiring places for customers.
It measures whole-life carbon emission to ensure that potential carbon outputs can be managed and reduced during the entire building lifecycle.
Pen Y Dre is one of the largest school refurbishments in Wales
Morgan Sindall will use the existing frame from the 50-year-old building and make it suitable for modern standards. The contractor will work closely with civils and architects to ensure this.
To ensure that the school is carbon-free in operation, the design has been tailored with CarboniCa. It will use air-source heat pumps and mechanical electrical equipment, so that the building will run without using fossil fuels.
The school refurbishment will increase Pen Y Dre’s capacity from 800 to 1,100 places for 11-to 16-year-olds.
The new building design will make the school more accessible, removing a lot of steps from the original site and improving provisions.
Workshops will be provided for teachers and pupils to promote carbon neutrality after construction
Morgan Sindall will ensure that the building remains as carbon-neutral as possible by providing workshops for teachers and pupils to educate them on sustainability and how to use it efficiently.
Rob Williams, area director at Morgan Sindall Construction, said: “Pen Y Dre is a hugely important development for us, the local community, and Wales as a whole. It will be the first refurbished net zero school of its size which we believe will shift attitudes about demolishing and rebuilding existing facilities.
“We have made it our priority to engage with the school from the outset to educate them on sustainability, heat loss, and building efficiently to make sure that the efforts we put into constructing a carbon friendly school are continued by those who use it.
The hand-in-glove-approach will ensure disruption is kept to a minimum during construction
“We will take a hand-in-glove approach with the local authority to deliver a state-of-the-art school which will inspire pupils and ensure disruption is kept to a minimum for the surrounding area and teaching. We will also collaboratively use Merthyr Tydfil’s knowledge on carbon targets with our expertise from other projects, such as recycling and reusing existing materials.
“We also look forward to working with the school’s Eco Council, which is student-led, and have planned a series of workshops on sustainability and Net Zero. It is fantastic to see pupils display such passion and enthusiasm for the environment and the future of their school.
“We pride ourselves on nurturing the next generation of talent, and Pen Y Dre will be an exemplar project for apprentices to cut their teeth on a site from start to finish due to the length of construction works.”
‘Helping to set standards for achieving net zero in Welsh schools’
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council Cabinet Member for Education Cllr Michelle Jones said: “We’re pleased and proud that Pen Y Dre is helping set standards for achieving net zero in Welsh schools.
“The Council has been working for a number of years towards meeting Welsh Government’s targets for the public sector to be carbon neutral, ensuring that all newbuild/refurbishment projects are completely energy efficient – our new bus station is the first fully-electrified one in Wales.
“Pen Y Dre High School has long been known for its high aspirations for all its learners. We are delighted the refurbished building will soon match these aspirations.”
