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Cardiff Council has announced plans to increase the size of Ysgol Mynydd Bychan in Gabalfa by 228 pupils, make it two-form entry and move it to a new and refurbished site at the current Allensbank Primary School from September, 2025.

Last year the school was one of the hardest Welsh-medium primary schools in Cardiff to get into, refusing 12 applications. Only Rhydypenau Primary School refused more, with 29. Ysgol Gymraeg Treganna in Canton received the highest number of applications, at 94, but the school has three-form entry and only refused four applications.

The expansion will take the school from having 192 to 420 school places and will increase the nursery provision by 32 to 96 places. It will also see the school go from 0.9 to two-form entry and leave its current New Zealand Road site to move to a refurbished site at Allensbank Primary on Llanishen Street, a two minute walk from its current site. This is part of a complete reorganisation of the primary schools in the Cathays/Gabalfa area.

The reorganisation will see Allensbank and Gladstone merged to create Fairoak Primary School, a new 420-place two-form entry English-medium primary school located on the shared Gladstone Primary and St Monica's Church in Wales Primary School site. St Monica's will therefore move to the current Ysgol Mynydd Bychan site. Never miss a Cardiff story by signing up to our daily newsletter here.

Cardiff Council has said the move demonstrates its commitment to expand Welsh-medium education and make Cardiff a truly bilingual city. It will mean there are 6,370 Welsh-medium and dual-language primary school places in the city, supporting the Welsh Government's target of one million Welsh speakers by 2050, according to the council.

Deputy leader and cabinet member for education, Cllr Sarah Merry, said: "These plans have brought forward significant investment in the local area and expanding Ysgol Mynydd Bychan marks another step toward meeting the growing demand for Welsh-medium education, ensuring more children can attend their local school."

Mrs Glesni Lloyd, the new Headteacher at Ysgol Mynydd Bychan said: "We are committed to ensuring that all families within the community are aware of the benefits of Welsh-medium education, and how gifting their children with the Welsh Language allows them to grow and thrive as capable bilingual and multilingual learners.

"With the demand for Welsh-medium education continuing to rise, we are proud to play our part in meeting this need. As we embark on this new chapter, we look forward to building on the school's long-standing success and deep roots within the community, ensuring that Ysgol Mynydd Bychan remains a valued and integral part of the area it serves".

Parents are still campaigning for a new Welsh-medium secondary school in Cardiff. They believe it is unfair that the current three are all located north of the A48 and therefore make it difficult for those living in the South of Cardiff to attend.