Reptiles that delayed new school opening moved to new location

Common lizards and slow worms whose presence caused a delay in the opening of a new school by at least two years are in the process of being moved to a new location.

Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Ogwr, a Welsh-medium school in Brackla, Bridgend, was due to move to a new nearby location in September 2025, but was delayed until September 2027.

That date "will be reviewed as the scheme progresses in line with normal practice", a council spokesperson said.

The reptiles were due move to a new home last summer but the council said the "translocation is currently underway".

A council spokesperson said moving reptiles was a "last resort" and the delay had allowed time to rethink the plan to "minimise" the number moved.

Work has taken place to prepare the creatures' new home, at an undisclosed location in Ogmore Valley known as a "receptor site", including building a protective shelter for the new residents.

There are strict rules on moving reptiles, and delays can be caused by factors such as weather conditions and temperature changes.

Moving the school to the larger site was originally estimated to cost around £18.6m, with 525 places expected for children aged four to 11, as well as a 90-place nursery.

No new estimate of any cost increase as a result of the delay has been announced.

A Bridgend council spokesperson said "reptile translocation" was currently underway "in line with ecological regulations".

They added that, to support the expansion of pupil numbers ahead of the move, two new temporary classrooms have been installed at the current school site, while a Welsh government grant of £1.1m will help "support the delivery of a co-located Welsh-medium childcare facility".

The common lizard is not currently rare or endangered in Britain, however its numbers are considered to be declining due to loss of habitat.

They are unusual among British reptiles in that they give birth to live young rather than laying eggs.

According to the Wildlife Trust, they measure between 10cm (3.9in) and 15cm (5.9in) and have an average lifespan of five to six years.

Slow worms have protected status in the UK and, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is illegal to intentionally kill or injure them.

Of the UK's six native reptile species, four have been found to be living in Bridgend county, with the other two being grass snakes and adders.