Names revealed for new schools (From Free Press Series)

Names revealed for new schools

THE names of the two new Abergavenny primary schools are to be Deri View and Cantref - and they've been chosen by children who will be pupils.

Deri View is the £6.6million 420-place primary school and nursery currently being built on a site between Llwynu Lane and Derwen Way, and Cantref will be the name of the new primary school when Harold Road Junior School is remodelled next year.

Deri View Primary School will be finished by next summer, in time for the start of the new school year in September, and pupils who currently attend Croesonen Infants, Llwynu Infants and St David's Junior schools will go there.

Work will then begin on remodelling the Harold Road school, and the pupils will spend a year in the St.David's school, which will become the permanent home of Ysgol Gymraeg Y Fenni in September 2006.

Cantref Primary School will open its doors the same time to 230 pupils, and both Croesonen and Park Street infants schools will then close.

The two winners of the competition to choose the names were five year old Katie Davies, a pupil at Park Street school and eight year old Ieuan Evans, a pupil at St.David's Junior School.

There were several children who choose the same names, but the winners were chosen because they gave the best reasons for their choice of name.

Both children will be taken to Halfords next Monday to choose their prize - a brand new bicycle.

The schools' programme is part of Monmouthshire County Council's strategic review of primary education which brought fierce criticism from many parents when it was started more than two years ago.

The review now moves into the second stage with a report going to the council's cabinet on July 28, for them to set up a new members' panel.

They will look at the options for the future of the village schools in Llanfoist, Govilon and Llanover. Plans to close Llanfair Kilgeddin Primary School were put on hold until 2008, and plans to close Clydach and Darenfelen primary schools were shelved during the first stage of the review.

Public meetings will be held in all three villages in September because the council will be re-looking at the review. Colin Barnard, a member of the council's projects team said: "The orange book we produced for the review is now out of date and the National Assembly would not accept it so we have to rewrite it."

He said if any of the schools are to close it would not happen before September 2007.