Glyn-Coch Primary School

Glyn-coch Primary School and Community Hub | Rhondda Cynon Taf

When it opens in autumn 2026, the new English-medium primary school at Glyn-coch will be one of the most environmentally ambitious school buildings in the United Kingdom. Designed and built to Passivhaus standards, and targeting BREEAM Outstanding, the WELL Building Standard, Building with Nature accreditation, and zero carbon in operation, the school sets a new benchmark for what a learning environment can be: healthier for the children inside it, kinder to the climate, and more deeply embedded in the community it serves.

We are proud to be delivering this project for Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, working alongside architect Stride Treglown.

What we are building

The development will deliver a two-storey replacement school building on the existing Craig yr Hesg Primary School site and adjoining land, bringing together pupils from Cefn Primary and Craig yr Hesg Primary as a new English-medium primary school for the Glyn-coch community. A Welsh-language Meithrin will sit alongside the school, supporting the early-years offer in both languages.

Beyond the classrooms, the scheme is designed as a genuine community hub. It includes:

• Three dedicated community rooms available outside school hours
• Two Multi-Use Games Areas (MUGAs) and a grass sports pitch
• New playgrounds designed for active, outdoor learning
• A 43-space car park with EV charging bays
• Secure bike, scooter and buggy storage to encourage sustainable travel

Setting a new standard for school buildings

Schools are some of the most intensively used public buildings in the country. Every percentage point of energy efficiency translates into lower running costs over a 60-year design life — money that can be redirected to teaching. Every improvement in indoor air quality, daylight and thermal comfort translates into measurable improvements in pupil concentration and staff wellbeing.

That is why this project pursues a stack of complementary green credentials rather than a single headline standard.

Passivhaus sets the fabric and energy performance benchmark. Through ultra-airtight construction, high-performance insulation and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, Passivhaus buildings typically use up to 90% less energy for heating than conventional buildings. For a school, that means dramatically reduced energy bills, stable temperatures throughout the school year, and excellent indoor air quality, a particular benefit for pupils with asthma and other respiratory conditions.

Zero carbon in operation means the building will generate as much renewable energy on site as it consumes in use, removing day-to-day operational carbon emissions from the school's footprint.

The WELL Building Standard focuses on the people inside the building. Where Passivhaus governs how the building performs, WELL governs how it feels: air quality, water, lighting, acoustics, thermal comfort and biophilic design are all assessed against evidence-based criteria proven to support occupant health and wellbeing.

BREEAM Outstanding is the highest rating available under the UK's leading sustainability assessment method, recognising performance across energy, water, materials, waste, ecology and management, a whole-life view of environmental quality.

Building with Nature is the UK's first benchmark for high-quality green infrastructure. Accreditation requires the design to deliver measurable benefits for wildlife, water management and people — locking nature into the development from day one rather than treating it as a finishing touch.

The scheme will also exceed current Welsh Government targets for reductions in embodied carbon in new schools — addressing the carbon emitted during construction itself, not just in operation.

Designed with nature

Sustainable drainage and biodiversity sit at the heart of the design. Rain gardens and other nature-based solutions will manage surface water on site, reducing pressure on local drainage infrastructure and creating habitat in the process. The landscape strategy is being developed to meet Building with Nature requirements, ensuring that green and blue infrastructure is integrated into daily life at the school — somewhere children learn outdoors as well as indoors.

Backed by Welsh Government and the local community

The project secured grant funding through the Welsh Government's Sustainable Schools Challenge Project, part of the Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme. It is one of only three projects in Wales to receive investment via this initiative, reflecting the ambition and wider learning value of the design.

A turf-cutting ceremony to mark the official start on site was attended by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council Cabinet Members, the Minister for Further and Higher Education and Member of the Senedd for the Cynon Valley, Vikki Howells, and Pontypridd MP Alex Davies-Jones.

"Planning consent marks an important step forward in the new school building development underway here at Glyn-coch. I am delighted to see work on this innovative new primary school is progressing so well thanks to over £15 million of funding from our Sustainable Schools Challenge.

What better way to embed our commitments towards reducing carbon emissions and tackling climate change, than for children, staff and communities to help with the design, build and management of this new zero carbon learning environment."

Lynne Neagle MS, Cabinet Secretary for Education, Welsh Government

A growing track record in Passivhaus

Glyn-coch Primary joins a portfolio of Willmott Dixon Passivhaus and net zero projects across the UK that demonstrate how the standard can be delivered at scale and across building types:

• Caerphilly: 12 one-bedroom apartments and six houses delivered to Passivhaus standards
• Spelthorne Borough Council: recently completed Passivhaus facility
• University of Exeter: recently completed Passivhaus facility
• Bridgend College: currently on site building a new net zero in operation town-centre campus
• Leicestershire County Council: delivered the first two schools in the council's roll-out programme of net zero schools

This experience matters. Designing to Passivhaus standards is not the same as building to them. Achieving certification depends on getting the detail right on site - airtightness, thermal bridging, the discipline of every junction - and that is built up project by project.

Why this project matters

For the children of Glyn-coch, a healthier, brighter, more comfortable school. For Rhondda Cynon Taf, a community asset that is open beyond the school day. For Wales, a tangible demonstration that the public estate can be decarbonised without compromise on quality. And for the construction industry, another data point that the highest sustainability standards are not only achievable.