Latest news with #YsgolBroCynllaith
Powys County Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Powys County Times
Councillor's fury as Powys cabinet members miss school vote
Residents of a village whose school is set to close feel 'betrayed' by the council's cabinet, an opposition leader has said. At a meeting of on Tuesday, June 10, cabinet members received an objections report on the proposal to close the 25 pupil Ysgol Bro Cynllaith in Llansilin near Oswestry. It means the closure will now go ahead at the end of August. Conservative group leader, Cllr Aled Davies who represents Llansilin said: 'At the last meeting to discuss Ysgol Bro Cynllaith a third of the cabinet was missing. 'Today is the final meeting to discuss the future of Bro Cynllaith and half the cabinet including the leader are missing.' Cllr Davies continued: 'There were a number of opportunities to meet with the community, the school governors and headteacher and only one of the 10 cabinet members could be bothered to come. 'It's not acceptable – it's important that cabinet are seen to reach out to the community. 'They are feeling betrayed and clearly the cabinet has no interest in the north of Powys.' He pointed out that the Cllr Berriman (Liberal Democrat) lives 51 miles away and other cabinet members live well over 100 miles away from Llansilin. Cllr Davies said: 'There's one member of the cabinet from Montgomeryshire (Cllr Richard Church) when it has 40 per cent of the Powys population.' Cllr Davies added that 'serious alternative proposals' to closure had not been considered. Cabinet member for education, Cllr Pete Roberts (Liberal Democrat) explained that on the day of a meeting arranged by Cllr Davies, for the whole village he had been down at a meeting with the minister for education in Cardiff. Cllr Roberts said: 'You arranged that without actually informing cabinet members you wanted there that it was happening. 'The travel time for me to Cardiff is an hour and 50 minutes, the travel time from Cardiff to Llansilin is between three-and-a-half and four hours. 'The civil service guidance is that anyone attending a meeting should not be driving for more than six hours in that day. 'If you had shown the courtesy of inviting me I would have made every attempt to be there, but you chose not to, so I will not be lectured by you.' Cllr Roberts added: 'This proposal has been enacted in exactly the same way as has been done on previous closure proposals that have been through judicial review.'
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Powys: 'Smallest school' close to England border to close
Councillors have voted to close the smallest primary school in Powys, in a move some have warned could see students move to schools outside council announced the closure of the 25-pupil Ysgol Bro Cynllaith in Llansilin from 31 August, with students expected to move to Ysgol Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, about six miles (9.6km) critics said parents could choose to send their children to schools in Oswestry, Shropshire, which is a similar distance Bro Cynllaith was one of three schools due to close in late 2021, but offered a reprieve as the plans were deemed unfeasible. Richard Jones, director of education on the council, said the proposal had received 20 objections, adding that the 31 August closure was "preferable" for pupils moving to a new school "so they can move at the start of a new, fresh academic year".Richard Church, also from the council, acknowledged concerns that students could move to schools in England, but questioned whether it "would be right" to make exceptions to keep schools open because they are close to England or another local authority in Wales."I don't believe it is sustainable to continue operating schools of this size - we can't make exceptions," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Sandra Davies, another council member, said she had previously campaigned against school closures in the area, but now had a different view."Having bigger schools does enhance children as individuals - they do thrive, and they are given more opportunities to grow," she council voted unanimously for the school to close.
Powys County Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Powys County Times
Powys' smallest school to close doors as council agrees move
The smallest school in Powys will close its doors at the end of August after Powys council cabinet members 'regretfully' backed the move. A meeting of Powys County Council's Liberal Democrat/Labour cabinet on Tuesday, June 10, saw members receive the objections report on the proposal to close the 25-pupil Ysgol Bro Cynllaith in Llansilin near Oswestry. Cabinet member for education Cllr Peter Roberts explained that receiving the objections report is the 'final stage' in the process of closing the school. Pupils from the school are expected to transfer to Ysgol Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant. But fears have been raised that children will leave Powys and attend primary schools around Oswestry, which is much closer to the village. Director of education Dr Richard Jones explained that the proposal had received 20 objections during the period. Dr Jones said: 'Having considered the objections received it is recommended that the council proceeds with the implementation of the proposal to close Ysgol Bro Cynllaith from August 31 as outlined in the statutory notice. 'It is recognised that the decision to proceed with the closure at the end of this term only provides a month's notice to the school community of this decision. 'It is the council's view that a transfer at the end of this summer term is preferable to pupils that are moving to a new school so they can move at the start of a new fresh academic year.' Cabinet member for legal and statutory services, Cllr Richard Church (Liberal Democrat) brought up the issue of losing pupils over the border into Shropshire and the Oswestry area. He questioned whether it 'would be right' to make an exception to keep small schools open because they are 'next to or close ' to an border either with England or another local authority in Wales. Cllr Church said: 'Closing rural schools is difficult and unpopular. 'But we have to accept that a school with only 25 pupils is not going to offer the range of education that we expect our young people to receive in our day and age. 'I don't believe it is sustainable to continue operating schools of this size, we can't make exceptions. 'I believe we will be making the right decision to proceed with the closure of this school.' Cabinet member for children's social service and the Welsh language Cllr Sandra Davies (Labour) pointed out that she had campaigned vigorously against school closures in the Ystradgynlais area in the recent past. But she now saw things differently. Cllr Davies said: 'Having bigger schools does enhance children as individuals they do thrive, and they are given more opportunities to grow.' Cllr Roberts added: 'Regretfully the objections do not override the reasons for transition. 'We have met the terms of the schools organisation code.'
Powys County Times
04-06-2025
- General
- Powys County Times
Powys primary school set to close despite objections
Objections to the closure of a small primary school in north Powys don't appear to have been enough to save it from closure. After proposing to close Ysgol Bro Cynllaith in Llansilin later this year, Powys Council have said that after hearing objections to the closure its education chief will still be recommending closing the school to Cabinet when it receives the report on June 10. Twenty objections were received by Powys Council during the statutory notice period, having first published a notice formally proposing closing the school in March 2025 Cabinet will receive and consider the objection report and will be asked to approve the proposal to close Ysgol Bro Cynllaith from the 31 August 2025, with pupils to transfer to their nearest schools in Powys Cllr Pete Roberts, Cabinet Member for a Learning Powys, said: 'After carefully considering the objections, I will be recommending to Cabinet that they approve the proposal to close Ysgol Bro Cynllaith. 'We are committed to securing the best possible start for our learners and we believe that our Strategy for Transforming Education in Powys will achieve this. 'As part of the strategy, we need to address the high proportion of small schools in the county, decreasing pupil numbers and the high number of surplus places. 'The historic and projected pupil numbers for Ysgol Bro Cynllaith suggest that numbers are not expected to increase significantly in the future while it is ranked the third highest school in Powys by budget share per pupil. 'The small pupil numbers at the school mean that pupils are taught in whole key stage classes with foundation pupils in one class and older pupils in another. As pupil numbers in each year group are small, it is more difficult to ensure all pupils are appropriately challenged. 'The proposal has not been reached lightly but we believe that it is needed to address the low numbers at the school and reduce the council's overall surplus capacity in primary schools. 'It will also ensure that pupils are taught in classes with peers of similar ages and attend a larger school which could provide a wider range of educational and extra-curricular activities.' News of the school's closure drew objections from members of the community and Powys politicians, with Montgomeryshire MP Steve Witherden saying it ' will be a great loss to the community ' after arguing it should be kept open.
Powys County Times
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Powys County Times
Powys MP hits out at council's sixth form closure proposal
A Powys MP has hit out at the proposal to close all the English language sixth forms in the county and replace them with two sites. Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr MP Steve Witherden criticised the proposals being considered by Powys County Council for major reform of over 16 education in the county and said 'I will not stand for it'. The proposal was one of three options revealed today (April 29), and would see all the English medium sixth forms around Powys being closed and relocated to two sites in Newtown and Brecon while three Welsh medium sites would be retained. Mr Witherden, who worked as a teacher before being elected MP in 2024, said the proposals would constitute 'downgrading public services' and said the plans would not work in county the size of Powys. 'Powys County Council continue with their mission of downgrading public services,' said Mr Witherden. 'Today they announce proposals to replace every English-medium sixth form in the county with just two sites. The Montgomeryshire site will be in Newtown. 'I am supportive of boosting Welsh-medium learning, but I do not think that making English-speaking students travel further for post-16 education is fair. 'I would not be surprised if many more pupils in the north of the county choose to go across the border instead. Powys is just too big for this to work; the sixth forms should be kept open.' Help support trusted local news Sign up for a digital subscription now: As a digital subscriber you will get Unlimited access to the County Times website Advert-light access Reader rewards Full access to our app Mr Witherden said that the plans were a result of long-term austerity brought in by the previous government and said he would be campaigning to have this reversed. 'Since my election I have repeatedly stood against the local consequences of austerity. I have done so on primary school closures, such as Ysgol Bro Cynllaith and Ysgol Treowen,' added Mr Witherden. 'I have done so on healthcare, with the downgrading of Llanidloes Hospital, deliberate increase of waiting times for cross-border treatment, or the planned closure of our air ambulance base. 'I did so just last week on tenant farmers, who are facing eviction due to ever deeper cost-cutting measures. 'We have been dealt blow after blow over the past few months. You can criticise the council for the management of its budget, but ultimately, we are feeling the sharp end of austerity because local authorities across the UK have had their real terms funding cut massively over the last decade and a half. 'Meanwhile, the gap between the very richest and everybody else continues to widen. But it is our services that get cut. Our operations that get delayed. Our schools that get shuttered. I will not stand for it.' Elwyn Vaughan who is group leader of Plaid Cymru in Powys County Council and is a governor at Ysgol Bro Hyddgen said 'doing nothing was not an option'. "Since 2011 Estyn school inspectors have criticised Powys for the lack of progress in sorting out the Sixth Form provision in Powys,' said Cllr Vaughan. 'This has been stated again only recently. Hence doing nothing is not a option. 'We're all well aware of the numbers of young people that travel out of County to access their 16+ education, it is essential therefore that full consideration is given what option is best to alleviate such pressures and is accessible for most. 'What we don't want to see is further weakening of provision and a further brain drain. It makes sense to base the Welsh medium provision around Llanfair and Hyddgen so that they work together to maximise provision. 'It will be essential to take the voice of our young people as a integral part of any consultation on future structures and provision."
