DETAILED plans for a £34.7m high school in Barry have been revealed.

The Vale council is completely rebuilding Pencoedtre High School so it will eventually cater for up to 1,250 pupils by 2026.

The new school campus would have a three-storey main building with a dining hall, main hall and courtyard, a sixth form area, an all-weather sports pitch and games courts.

A planning application said the new Pencoedtre High School would be built south of the existing school building, which would be demolished when pupils move into the new site.

A car park – with 139 spaces – would be located on the site of the current school building.

The mixed-sex school, which would cater for pupils aged between 11 and 18, is expected to open in 2021 if planning permission is approved.

When it opens, it is expected that up to 1,100 pupils, including 200 sixth-formers, would be enrolled.

But pupil numbers would be expected to steadily rise until “full capacity is reached in 2026”, when there would be 1,250 pupils – including 200 sixth form students.

It would mean staff numbers at Pencoedtre High School would increase to 150.

Pencoedtre High, which occupies the former all-girls Bryn Hafren Comprehensive School site, currently has 846 pupils attending with a capacity of 1,331.

But a planning statement said the current Pencoedtre High School was built in 1971 and is now “beyond economical repair”.

The statement, sent on behalf of the council, said: “The current school building occupying the site is generally not of a standard for 21st century teaching and learning.

“The proposal supports the Vale of Glamorgan Council’s commitment to establishing mixed sex education in Barry, as well as establishing modern, high-quality learning environments that meet the school’s aspirations.”

The cost of the project, to be built by the council’s appointed contractor Bouygues, will be jointly-funded by the Welsh Government and the council under the 21st Century Schools Programme.

Seventy-eight staff currently work at the school.

A consultation is now being held on the plans.