Powys sixth forms in closure threat

All 13 secondary school sites in Powys could remain open but some sixth forms may close as part of a planned shake-up of education in the county, council bosses said today.

Some schools may also be amalgamated in a bid to save Powys County Council, the local education authority, money.

Councillors will consider the outcomes of a secondary education review at a board meeting in Llandrindod Wells on Tuesday.

Earlier this year the council said some schools could be forced to close because of falling pupil numbers but officials said today it wants all 13 high school sites, including Welshpool and Llanfair, to remain open.

The council hopes to reorganise and streamline the management structure, so that a headteacher would take responsibility for a school on two, or more, sites.

Two recommendations for sixth form education will also be put forward to councillors next week - one would see services delivered as a partnership between schools and Coleg Powys, and the other is for the service to be handed over entirely to Coleg Powys.

If approved, the recommendations will be subject to a four month consultation. The council's board will then consider the outcome and implications of the consultation next summer.

Councillor David Jones, board member for schools and inclusion, assured residents that no final decision on the future of high schools had been yet been made:

"Our plans for the future shape of secondary and post-16 education in Powys have reached a crucial stage.

"We have spent a long time looking at the challenges facing both the schools and Coleg Powys now and into the future

"We have identified a number of proposals that we believe could form the basis of a thriving education and training sector in Powys.

"There will be full consultation with staff, pupils, parents, governing bodies and a wide-range of community groups. All views will be carefully considered and fully debated by the council before any final decisions are made."

View proposal details at www.powys.gov.uk