Archbishop McGrath Catholic High School

Archbishop McGrath Catholic High School
Brackla, Bridgend United Kingdom
Information
Type	Secondary school

Archbishop McGrath Catholic High School is a secondary school located in Brackla, Bridgend.

Original school

The Old School Building after the School Fire

Originally built in the 1960s, Archbishop McGrath was located next to Ynysawdre Comprehensive School, Ynysawdre, Bridgend. In 2009, arsonists burnt down the Technology Department and heavily damaged the sports hall. ^[1] The local council and the Archdiocese of Cardiff paid to have replacement portable buildings installed, which allowed teaching to continue whilst the Technology Department was torn down and the sports hall repaired. As the fire happened in autumn outside of school time, nobody was injured and examinations were not disturbed. Other minor structural problems were prevalent throughout the school, and it was demolished outright by early 2012.

New school

Following the fire, plans were made to build a new school designed by HLM architects at a site in Brackla, Bridgend just past the 'triangle' shopping area. The contract went to the Leadbitter Group Ltd ^[2] and construction began in early 2010. Construction was completed by October 2011 but the school was in use by September that year. The new school has won multiple architecture awards and won the Gold Medal for Architecture at the National Eisteddfod of Wales of 2012. ^[3]

The New School Building

References

1. "Cylinder worry after school fire". 16 September 2009.
2. "Archbishop McGrath Catholic High School". leadbitter.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
3. "Gold Medal for Architecture". National Eisteddfod of Wales. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021.

51°30′28″N3°33′31″W / 51.5078°N 3.5586°W / 51.5078; -3.5586