The £25 million redevelopment of Rhyl High School in North Wales has been completed and is now free for students to use. Mott MacDonald provided project management, technical advisory and cost consultancy services to Denbighshire County Council on the project, while Willmott Dixon was responsible for design and construction.
In 2014, Denbighshire County Council announced plans to create a new state-of-the-art facility which would seek to provide the best possible start for children and young people in a modern setting. Funding was received from the council and the Welsh Government to construct a three-storey building capable of accommodating 1,200 pupils from Rhyl High School. The building also provides a base for 45 pupils from the nearby Ysgol Tir Morfa community special school.
The new building includes sustainable features to achieve low operational costs over the lifecycle of school, while at the same time reducing carbon emissions through the use of biomass for heat and photovoltaics on the roof. The design is also aimed at achieving a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating. Outdoor facilities include hard and soft landscaped social areas for pupils, areas for outdoor learning, a multi-use games area, all-weather pitch and grassed pitches for summer and winter games.
Martyn Frackelton, Mott MacDonald’s project manager, said: “The new school provides children and young people in Rhyl with the best possible surroundings for their education. Work has been undertaken while the existing school and an adjacent leisure centre were still in use. It has been delivered on time and budget which is a testament to the collaborative effort which went into developing this fantastic facility.”
Demolition of the old Rhyl High School building will now begin, with the site eventually turned into new playing fields.