Shock as Powys schools on closure list

TWO PRIMARY schools in Powys have been placed on a closure hit-list by council bosses, despite both having more than 30 pupils, it has been revealed.

Parents, teachers, staff and governors at Ysgol Pontrobert, near Meifod, and Castle Caereinion Primary School, near Welshpool, have called for the schools' names to be removed from the list.

Powys County Council announced last week that it would be reviewing 11 schools for possible closure because they had fewer than 30 pupils.

Ysgol Pontrobert has 31 pupils and Castle Caereinion has 38. Governors said they were shocked to be told their schools would be reviewed.

Huw Jones, headteacher of Castle Caereinion Primary School, said the school should not have been placed on the list.

He said from April the number would increase to 42.

"The only qualification for inclusion on this list should be that numbers on roll would be falling to below 30," he said.

"The council's projected figures are wrong to put it bluntly. We are a viable school with a clear vision for the future. Our numbers are in fact rising at present, and we can demonstrate they will remain significantly above 30 for the foreseeable future."

An action plan will now be launched and a public meeting held at Castle Caereinion Community Centre on Tuesday, at 7pm.

Governors at Ysgol Pontrobert also hit out.

A spokesman for the school's governing body said: "The governing body of Ysgol Pontrobert wish to correct the incorrect and misleading information quoted.

"The projected pupil numbers fall at no time in the next three years below 30, which appears to be the criteria for closure. Since we as a school do not fall into this bracket, to be included in such a list, is wrong."

John Evans, communications manager for Powys County Council, said: "The criteria we have show that the schools have, or are projected to have, fewer then 30 pupils over the next three years. We will be meeting with the governing bodies to go over the matter."

By Anwen Evans