NEWS that there is going to be such significant investment in secondary education in Torfaen is hugely welcome.

In many ways the focus in recent years in the borough has been on reorganising the primary sector.

In the secondary sector the main development so far has been to merge the old Llantarnam and Fairwater schools into one school, Cwmbran High, on an existing site and with some refurbishment.

So today’s plans to rebuild Croesyceiliog School at a cost of £30m and to create a new sixth form centre to replace sixth forms in all English-medium schools is the most ambitious development to date.

Creating the sixth form centre will cost £20m so the two schemes together represent a major investment in secondary education under the Welsh Government's 21st Century Schools programme.

The other revolutionary aspect of this proposal is that it will place sixth form education in the hands of Coleg Gwent, which will run the new Cwmbran facility while retaining its existing Pontypool campus.

This represents a major step forward in Torfaen’s education service, which has had troubles in the past. So this is good news for parents and pupils.