PLANS to transform a Torfaen primary school with a £4million investment were backed by Torfaen council at a cabinet meeting.

At the meeting, councillors discussed a ‘business justification case’ which will be submitted to Welsh Government to fund works on Penygarn Community Primary School near Pontypool.

Around £350,000 was invested into the site by the council after the closure of Pontnewynydd Primary school in 2014/15 and the council hope to secure £2 million funding from Welsh Government to continue the improvements.

The application is part of the '21st Century School Programme', a partnership between the Welsh Local Government Association and Welsh Government.

As part of the scheme, local authorities can receive 50 per cent funding on the overall cost of major refurbishment or construction works in the education sector.

The proposed works at Penygarn Primary aim to improve the school from a B/C condition to a A/B grade condition with a list of features.

These include library improvements, an ICT overhaul and refurbishments to the main hall, community areas and the school’s 'Flying Start' building.

Remodelling work will also improve breakfast club access alongside work to improve external play areas, roofs, walls, windows, heating and electrical systems.

Torfaen CBC estimate that the work will take around two years to complete.

Education head, Cllr David Yeowell, suggested that the school improvements could also help the building serve as a community space for the people of Penygarn and Trevethin. As proposed works to improve the school will run in parallel to children’s education, he also stressed his commitment to “safety first".

“We wouldn’t let anything go ahead unless we were 100 per cent certain that safety was the top priority,” he said.

Officers in Torfaen’s education service and neighbourhood services have also conducted consultations with the primary school, Crownbridge School and Flying Start to discuss the works on site.

The proposed 'business justification case' will now be submitted to Welsh Government for approval.