PLANS to merge a primary and secondary school in Llanfair Caereinion have been “called in” for scrutiny, because the decision is seen as “flawed”. Earlier this month Powys County Council’s ruling Independent/Conservative coalition agreed to go ahead with merging Llanfair Caereinion Primary School and Caereinion High School, creating an all-through school for four-to-18-year-olds. They had also agreed to exploring the further development of Welsh language education, and including primary schools in the wider catchment area as part of this consultation. But the decision was made without any scrutiny, and the council s learning and skills committee has now called in the decision for further consideration.
Good broadband has become even more important after a year of lockdowns. Photo: Pixabay Christmas 2020 will be remembered as the year we camped on the sofa to watch festive films in between video-calling loved ones from our homes. However, for some families in Powys, this year’s frustrations are set to continue with new figures revealing crippling broadband speeds in some neighbourhoods. Across the local authority, broadband speeds range from a superfast 45.7 megabits (Mbps) per second to a snail-paced 1.9 Mbps, according to data from Uswitch.com. It means families using Zoom, Skype or Facebook to speak to relatives and friends could be faced with annoying freezes, cut-outs and sound delays.