A SECONDARY school is set to benefit from £500,000 worth of improvements to its entrance and reception areas, along with new windows, lighting and a replacement ceiling.

But local councilors have warned that the cash injection must not “prejudice” the proposed redevelopment of Chepstow School, after plans for a new school in Abergavenny were given priority by the council cabinet.

The £500,000 renovation package, which is part of a £1m Welsh Government grant for education in the county, was announced at a full council meeting last Thursday (July 18).

But protesting about the delay in totally redeveloping the school, Cllr Armand Watts (Thornwell, Lab) said the secondary’s buildings were “wholly inadequate” and without an immediate committment to rebuild, the council risked a “mass exodus” of children from Chepstow across the River Wye to Wyedean School in Sedbury.

He blasted: “Doing a cosmetic job is like having an old banger, respraying it and putting some fancy wheels on it.

“It’s window dressing. They need to start again.”

Cllr David Dovey (St Kingsmark, Con) added: “Any funding that is available to improve the school is welcome.

“My disappointment is that through a cabinet decision, work to modernise the school was pushed to the back of the queue.”

And he said he would be asking the council cabinet for assurances that the £500,000 grant would not affect any future cash allocation for a “fully funded redevelopment”.

Cllr Paul Pavia (Larkfield, Con) said that while grant funding was “welcome news”, the school’s redevelopment should be brought forward.

Cabinet member Cllr Richard John (Mitchel Troy, Con) said Monmouthshire Council remained “committed to delivering a 21st century learning environment for every pupil.”

Having built new secondary schools in Monmouth and Caldicot as part of the council’s 21st Century Schools programme, the cabinet has prioritised creating a new school for pupils aged three to 19 in Abergavenny by bringing a redeveloped King Henry VIII Comprehensive School and Deri View Primary School onto the same site.