A new report looks at commitments for the school estate in Wales’ largest education authority over the next 12 months and longer term
Work progresses on the dining hall at the new build Willows High School which remains on track to open to pupils in 2026-27(Image: Cardiff Council )
All the work on the multi million pound effort to update and rebuild Cardiff‘s schools are published in a new report. To date, more than £421m has been committed under the school investment programme with Cardiff delivering one of the largest and most ambitious school investment projects in Wales.
Cardiff Council’s report on Education Estate Investment highlights progress across the city’s school modernisation work, a scheme supported through the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme.
The work includes new build schools as well as updating and re-working existing buildings. For the biggest stories in Wales first, sign up to our daily newsletter here.
Work in 2026 in Cardiff schools
The report says that over the next 12 months Cardiff Council is committed to:
- Continuing major capital projects, including the £110m Fairwater Campus, Willows High and Ysgol Cynefin. The new Cantonian High on the Fairwater Campus opened on January 15 and you can see all the best photos and details of that here
- Progressing school provision associated with new housing developments in the city
- Implementing priority schemes to strengthen long‑term building maintenance
- Delivering further investment through the five‑year rolling programme to improve “safety, sustainability, and suitability” across the city’s school estate and buildings
The flagship project
The flagship Fairwater Community Campus, one of Cardiff’s most significant education infrastructure schemes, remains on schedule for completion in the 2026-27 academic year with key achievements including:
- Full handover of the Health and Wellbeing block in August 2025
- Completion of Cantonian High School’s new facilities in December 2025 and pupils moving in on January 15
- Providing urgently needed additional learning need places for Riverbank and Woodlands Schools by September 2026
- The council said it also directly protected local jobs by paying nearly £9m owed to the supply chain following the collapse of the original contractor for the Fairwater Campus
Willows High
The new build 900‑place school is on track to open in 2026-27.
Ysgol Cynefin
Special school Ysgol Cynefin will become the new home for The Court School, split across two sites in Fairwater and Llanrumney. It is planned to be completed in February 2026.
Other completed or progressing schemes include:
- Moorland Primary – early years and flying start facilities were completed in April 2024
- Pentyrch Primary – extension and refurbishment completed in June 2024
- Ysgol Mynydd Bychan – moved to a new and refurbished site at the old Allensbank Primary on New Zealand Road in September 2025, while its old site on the same road has been transformed into the new premises for St Monica’s Primary
- Lansdowne Primary – relocated to upgraded facilities on the old Fitzalan School site in November 2025 in response to the deterioration of the old Victorian school buildings.
Additional learning needs
Rising demand for additional learning needs (ALN) provision continues to grow. Cardiff Council has launched a huge programme to expand ALN places in special and mainstream schools.
Recent progress on ALN expansion includes:
- Four‑classroom ALN expansion at Llanishen Fach Primary School
- New specialist resource base developments at Coed Glas, Severn, and Greenway Primary Schools
- New specialist bases planned at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf, with completion expected by 2027
In addition, proposals were announced in December which will create 462 additional specialist places, including 120 for secondary pupils with complex learning needs, 80 for children aged three to 19 with profound and multiple learning difficulties and complex medical needs and 24 primary school emotional health and wellbeing specialist resource base places.
Investment in existing school buildings
Cardiff Council said it is committed to investing in the city’s education estate. The five‑year Asset Renewal Plan adds to recent increases in funding for existing school buildings.
The council has spent more than £80m on “asset renewal” in recent years. This spend is planned to continue in 2025/26 with £20m earmarked specifically for upgrading education buildings.
Council bosses said this beefed up investment means it can continue essential improvements and support long‑term goals such as carbon reduction.
The programme also prioritises schools most in need. All primary, secondary and special schools assessed as being in the worst “C” condition will receive targeted monitoring and investment to address major defects.
The report highlights the investment in Cardiff’s school buildings which have seen 385 asset renewal schemes delivered last year, including priority condition improvements, safeguarding works and ALN adaptations.
Schools and Cardiff population change
The report says that with declining birth rates and shifting migration patterns, Cardiff is proactively adapting school provision to “maintain stability and avoid inefficiency”. In other words it wants to provide the school places where they are needed.
This includes consolidating English‑medium primary provision in Cathays and surrounding wards and realigning school organisation to support expansion of Welsh‑medium and ALN provision
“The council is also ensuring that new school provision aligns with the delivery of thousands of new homes through the Local Development Plan.”
Cabinet member for education at Cardiff Council, Cllr Sarah Merry, said: “As our population changes, we’re making the system more efficient and future‑ready, tackling surplus places, supporting Welsh‑medium growth, and investing in asset renewal, including urgent works to our Victorian schools, to make buildings safer, warmer and greener. This is about building an education system that is stronger, fairer and greener for the next generation.”
Cardiff Council’s cabinet meets on January 22 to consider the report’s recommendations.
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