Work has started work on a new ‘3-19’ School in Llandysul, the biggest ever building project for Ceredigion County Council.

The 3-19 School will see five schools: Ysgol Dyffryn Teifi, Aberbanc, Coedybryn, Llandysul, and Pontsian, merge together to form the second ‘all-through’ school in the County.

This project, along with the Drefach Area School development, will see a total investment of £34.5m in the education infrastructure across Ceredigion by 2016.

The build, which is expected to be completed by September 2016, will see the construction of a new two storey 11,200m2 building, which will accommodate around 1,000 primary and secondary school pupils, aged 3-19 years old.

The Llandysul-based facility, which is yet to be named, will provide state-of-the-art facilities including a large hall, sports hall, kitchen and catering facilities and 47 classrooms including science laboratories and IT facilities.

Neal Stephens, Managing Director at construction company Willmott Dixon Wales, said: “Today marks the start of the largest construction project for Ceredigion County Council and we’re honoured to have been chosen for this contract.

“Since the Welsh Government released the 21st Century Schools programme, we have worked on many academic projects and now we are seeing a radically different approach to education provision in the area of Llandysul and it is now being mirrored across Wales. Schools are leaning towards a more open plan, ‘all through’ school provision for students.

“The design of the school has incorporated many sustainable solutions. We will be installing photo voltaic panels, which will use the sunlight to generate heat and light, working towards an energy self-sufficient school. By integrating five schools onto one site, this new educational facility will provide much efficiency, by comparison to the current arrangement.”

Councillor Ellen ap Gwynn, Leader of Ceredigion County Council, said: “This project has been in the planning stages for almost a year and it’s fantastic to celebrate the first step of this journey for a new state of the art school in Llandysul.

“We have established a great relationship with Willmott Dixon, as we’ve worked with them in the past on the construction of the Council’s Canolfan Rheidol Offices in Aberystwyth.

“We look forward to being a part of the construction process and providing the students in Ceredigion with some of the best learning facilities in Wales.”

External landscaping of the surrounding area will also create four sports pitches, a full sized 2G synthetic sports pitch and onsite parking.

This project and others show a considerable joint capital investment by Welsh Government match funded by Ceredigion County Council.

The new school will take approximately two years and is due to open at the start of the 2016/2017 academic year.