 The new learning centre will offer adult education courses |
A new learning centre at a west Wales school will provide some of the best facilities in the UK for Gypsy children, says its head teacher. The centre at Monkton Priory Primary School, Pembroke, will also offer adult education courses to members of the Gypsy and travelling community.
Head William Rees said it would equip people with skills for the job market.
The �750,000 building will be officially opened on Thursday by Wales' education minister Jane Davidson.
About 20% of the 244 pupils at Monkton Priory are members of the Gypsy or travelling communities.
Mr Rees, who received the MBE in 1999 for services to education, said the school provided a vital service for Gypsy children.
He told the BBC News website: "We have children arriving who have never been to school in their lives, aged seven to eight years old.
"And we have children over 11 who have never been to school."
The community centre - which has been open to pupils since May - will also offer a variety of learning programmes for adults, including courses in reading, computing and GCSE maths.
Mr Rees explained that much of the traditional work done by Gypsies does not exist any more, which made learning new skills even more important, while high unemployment in the area has made the problem worse.
"We want to give people the skills to access the job market," he added.
The head teacher also believes that the mix of pupils at his school has its own benefits.
"If we are going to be a successful multi-cultural society we need diversity," he said.
"It saddens me greatly to see anyone make political capital out of diversity. It's the politics of the gutter - it disgusts me."
The school began taking Gypsy children nine years ago in an initiative set up by Pembrokeshire County Council called the Priory Project.
 Head William Rees says pupils benefit from diversity |
Many have then gone onto secondary schools and further education.
The teacher in charge of the service, Bev Stephens, also organises education for children belonging to circus and fairground families when they pass through west Wales.
The centre is funded by Pembrokeshire County Council, the Welsh Assembly Government, education body Elwa and the European Union.
It will house classrooms for the mainstream school, a computer suite, staff room and a community meeting hall.
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We want to give people the skills to access the job market
