Pembrokeshire's ‘greenest' school - Ysgol Glannau Gwaun in Fishguard - has been officially opened by First Minister Carwyn Jones.
The £6 million building is the first school in Pembrokeshire to achieve a BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) ‘Excellent' rating.
Funded by Pembrokeshire County Council and the Welsh Government, work on the new school building began last May and was completed three months ahead of schedule.
It replaces the town's junior and infant schools and caters for 280 pupils aged three to 11.
Built by construction firm Dawnus, the new facility is highly sustainable with on-site low zero carbon technologies providing over half of the building's electricity and heating. It also incorporates sprinklers and rainwater harvesting.
During his visit to the school the First Minister Carwyn Jones, said: "The Welsh Government is committed to making sure that every child in Wales is educated in an environment that will encourage learning and development.
"This state-of-the-art building is an outstanding example of design excellence with an enviable location at the top of the town with views overlooking Fishguard Bay and the Preseli Hills.
"The £2.75 million we have invested in this site will help provide suitable facilities for the next generation of pupils to reach their full potential.
"The school's use of new technology, such as iPads and iPods, to promote literacy demonstrates the innovation and 21st Century standard of education in Wales.
"Over the last two Welsh Government terms we have invested over £1 billion in our school stock, a substantial amount of money.
"Since 2009 we have approved 65 projects at over £559 million. Taking into account the contribution from local authorities and others, that is half a billion pounds. This includes 34 new schools, 15 major Further Education college refurbishments."
The First Minister was welcomed by Pembrokeshire County Council Leader, Councillor John Davies.
He told pupils and guests: "Ysgol Glannau Gwaun is a shining example of a 21st Century school and represents a significant investment in the future of young people in Fishguard."
T
he new school is the latest in a long line of new buildings and improvements to the education infrastructure in the County since the Council came into being in 1996.
Since 1996, the County Council has allocated £120 million to new projects to improve school buildings.
In the same week that Ysgol Glannau Gwaun opened to pupils, a new primary school in Neyland opened while work continues on building a new school in Letterston.
The school was even environmentally friendly during its construction.
Embracing the Welsh Government's agenda on reducing waste, the County Council set stringent standards for Dawnus during the building period.
Only 40 standard size skips of waste were produced during the build while over 90 per cent of construction waste was reused or recycled - well in excess of proposed targets.
This included the majority of excavated rock - more than 4,000 tonnes of Preseli Bluestone - therefore avoiding 800 lorry movements through the centre of Fishguard.
During the building phase, the Council architects were careful to use materials with a high recycled content. This ranged from recycled glass bottles in the roof insulation to recycled aluminium window frames.
Crymych artist, Dawny Tootes, went one step further. She designed an aluminium sculpture ‘plant' for the main entrance made of off-cuts from the windows and cans collected by the design and contractor teams.
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