THE Welsh Government has approved the first step of a three-stage process to get another Welsh medium secondary school in Gwent

Part of the Duffryn High School site in Newport could be developed to house a new Welsh language school, after the strategic outline case for the proposal was approved earlier this month.

Newport City Council can now work to develop plans for the school, which will proceed to the next detailed business case stage.

Currently secondary school pupils travel to Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw in Pontypool but the school is likely to be oversubscribed by September 2016.

The school serves pupils from Blaenau Gwent, Monmouthshire, Torfaen and Newport but oversubscription will limit admissions of children from outside Torfaen.

Councillor Debbie Wilcox, Newport City Council’s cabinet member for Education and Young People, said: “At this stage, it should be emphasized that the proposals have some way to go and no final decisions have yet been taken, either by the council or the Welsh Government.

“It has taken a lot of hard work by the council and its partners to reach this point so I am pleased that the Welsh Government has given the go-ahead for us to progress.

“Newport City Council is committed to ensuring that provision is in place for pupils from Newport who wish to attend a Welsh secondary school from 2016 and this is an important step forward.”

The school would be developed on the site of Duffryn High School but it is understood the two would operate separately.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The first part of the approval process has been achieved and Newport City Council have been asked to proceed to the second stage of the process.

“Only when all parts of the process have been completed will a decision be made on whether to award funds under the 21st Century Schools programme.

“In the meantime, we continue to work with Newport City Council and other members of the consortium to develop plans for Welsh medium secondary education in the area.”