Llanbedr Church in Wales primary school - in the Vale of Grwyney near Crickhowell - picture from Google Street View The consultation period on the proposal to close a Powys school has been extended after mistakes were highlighted in the consultation document. Llanbedr Church in Wales (CIW) primary school in the Vale of Grwyney near Crickhowell, is one of four schools facing closure under Powys Council s latest education transformation plans. But the council’s consultation documents have now been found to contain inaccurate figures on the spaces available to take Llanbedr pupils at the nearest CIW primary school, in Llangattock.
PUPILS past, present and even future at a primary school in a thriving rural Radnorshire community have made an emotional video hoping to save it from closure. In the three-minute, 52-second video, generations of pupils who’ve attended Llanfihangel Rhydithon Community Primary School in the tiny village of Dolau are filmed initially catching and then passing on a green/turquoise-coloured school jumper. The jumper is a symbol of the school being passed down among the generations, with the heart-warming video set to the song ‘This Is Me’ by Kesha. At the end of the video, the youngest current pupil is seen receiving the jumper as she stands in the middle of a green-shaped heart formed by fellow learners in a field.
THE decision not to hold a public meeting on the proposed closure of a Powys primary school has been condemned by a prospective new Senedd candidate. Welsh Liberal Democrat candidate Alison Alexander says a decision not to hold a public meeting on Churchstoke County Primary School’s prospective closure damages confidence in Powys County Council. In an open letter to the education portfolio holder Phyl Davies, a member of the Conservatives, Ms Alexander states poor communication on school closure consultations has already damaged confidence and the refusal to hold a public meeting on the future of Churchstoke risks entrenching this lack of trust even further.
A SCHOOL in Powys has lambasted the local council after it revealed plans to consult on its closure. Supporters of Llanbedr Church in Wales School in the south of the county say they “refute” any assertion that the best interests of learners and the pupils have been at the forefront of the decision-making process. Powys County Council (PCC) announced last Wednesday, April 21, that it is looking to reconfigure and rationalise primary school provision in the county as part of its ‘Strategy for Transforming Education in Powys 2020-2030’ and is proposing to close the school, near Crickhowell. “The governors, parents and children of Llanbedr Church in Wales School call on everyone in the local community to respond to the consultation by the Conservative/Independent-led Powys County Council to close our school,” said supporters of the school in a statement.
Montgomeryshire Senedd candidate Russell George has said there is a strong case for keeping Churchstoke s school open, and raised concerns over holding a consultation into its closure during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Conservative politician, who holds the Montgomeryshire seat in the Senedd going into next month s election, was speaking while on the campaign trail with former Conservative leader William Hague in Welshpool on Tuesday. Churchstoke is one of a number of rural schools in Powys which are in line for closure. Local parents have launched a petition aimed at saving the school from closure, with more than 1,400 people having signed so far.