AN UPDATE on the building of two new schools in Abergavenny will be given to county councillors next week.

The redevelopment of King Henry VIII secondary school and the construction of a new Welsh medium primary school form the second part - or Band B -of the 21st Century Schools Programme put in place by Monmouthshire County Council and the Welsh Government.

A new secondary school is earmarked in Chepstow, but a council report states that the revamped King Henry VII will take priority due to its “poor condition” and that the site offers a “greater potential for the local authority to develop its policy aims.

The school is situated in a deprived area of Abergavenny and holds the highest number of pupils having free schools across all secondary schools in Monmouthshire.

Chepstow will instead be considered in the third phase of the programme.

The first phase of the scheme - Band A - concerned the Caldicot School rebuild, which is set to open on Monday, and the new Monmouth Comprehensive which is set to be finished in late 2018.

The first phase of the scheme - Band A - concerned the Caldicot School rebuild, which is set to open on Monday, and the new Monmouth Comprehensive which is set to be finished in late 2018.

3.7 The original Strategic Outline Programme (2010) held a much wider remit.

This included the development of the whole education estate, however as a

result of cost pressures identified during Band A, a greater focus has been

applied to the revised Strategic Outline Programme for Band B.

3.8 The two remaining secondary schools both require developing, however the

needs of King Henry VIII are greater due to the condition of the building and

the site offers greater potential to develop our policy aims.

3.9 King Henry VIII school is situated in a deprived area of Abergavenny and

the school holds the highest level of free school meal entitlement within our

secondary schools.

3.10 The north of the county has traditionally been a focal point of Welsh

Language, with Abergavenny hosting the Welsh National Eisteddfod. The

Band B programme will allow Monmouthshire to build on this and to meet

the priorities of the new administration.

3.11 With the emergence of the City Deal and the proposal to abolish the tolls on

the two Severn Crossings, it is anticipated that there will be an increase in

residents with in the Chepstow area, at this stage the changes are

unquantified and difficult to predict. The proposal is therefore to consider

the development of Chepstow School under band C, when the impa