They were once the heart of local communities, now many small rural schools in Wales are shut or under increasing pressure as budgets tighten and lifestyles change.
In the last five years since January, 2017, 27 schools with fewer than 100 pupils have closed and 31 schools with fewer than 100 pupils amalgamated into new schools in Wales.
More closures and amalgamations are planned with feelings running high in Powys where a large scale reorganisation of the county’s schools is underway.
Read more: Contact bubbles and staggered star and end times will return to schools in Wales
The latest to hear it is closing is 17-pupil village primary Castle Caereinion Church in Wales School which will shut from August 31, 2022, meaning the summer term will be the last for children and staff.
The local diocese said it was “very disappointed” when Powys Council announced the decision at the end of November. The diocese warned that children would be forced to travel long distances to alternative schools and would struggle to attend extra curricular activities. You can read more education stories here.
Acting headteacher Angela Jones assured parents that it remained “business as usual” for the school and pupils would continue to receive “the best education whilst making sure that their well-being is at the forefront”.
Pupils will transfer to their nearest school after the classrooms shut for the last time in the summer.
Meanwhile, two small village schools in Carmarthenshire - Mynyddygarreg near Kidwelly, and Yysgol Blaenau near Llandybie - have been saved - for now.
Welsh Government guidance introduced in 2016 includes a presumption against small rural school closures, but that does not mean they won’t shut, a spokesperson warned.
The strength of the presumption in protecting such schools may now be tested in the High Court by a lawyer acting for parents of three primaries facing closure.
Michael Imperato said Powys Council’s plans to close Llanfihangel Rhydithon Community Primary in Dolau and Llanbedr Primary school were in breach of the Welsh Government policy.
Mr Imperato, director of Cardiff-based law firm, Watkins and Gunn, which previously led the legal challenge in 2015 which saved top performing Gwernyfed High School from closure, said: “We are saying Powys Council has misconstrued the presumption that rural schools won’t close. On that basis alone I expect to succeed.
“If not, then I don’t see how the presumption could ever work. Llanbedr and Llanfingangel are classic rural schools which are stable and performing well. If the presumption does not protect them it has no teeth and no benefit whatsoever. The presumption is supposed to be a protection for well set up and well performing small rural schools, which these are.
“I would say Powys Council is misapplying the presumption. That will be tested in the High Court if the council agrees to close them. “We are waiting on the cabinet meeting to rubber stamp the decision to close them following the public objection consultation. If they go ahead with agreeing closure after that we will issue High Court proceedings.”
The presumption, brought in by former Education Minister Kirsty Williams, has not been tested yet and the lawyer believes councils are interpreting it in different ways.
Mr Imperato is also acting for parents of a third school, Cradoc Primary, but said that case was slightly different.
Responding to his claim, Powys Council said simply: “All proposals developed by the council have been in accordance with the Welsh Government’s School Organisation Code (2018).”
Get the latest news for your area:
The Welsh Government added that the presumption against closure wouldn’t protect all rural schools.
A spokesperson confirmed 58 schools with 100 or less pupils had shut or amalgamated since 2017, adding: “Local authorities must ensure there are sufficient schools providing primary and secondary education for their area, and when making any significant changes, they must comply with the school organisation code.
“We have strengthened the School Organisation Code to introduce a presumption against the closure of rural schools and a list of schools designated for this purpose.
“A presumption against closure doesn’t mean a rural school will never close, but the case for closure must be strong and not taken until all viable alternatives have been considered. For any proposed school closure local authorities must undertake a community impact assessment.”
Neil Short, from the National Association of Small Schools, said interest in small schools had grown since the pandemic when they often became even more a focus for communities. Home working might also affect where parents wanted to send their children to school.
“Losing its school can have a detrimental effect on the future of a village community,” said Mr Short.
"The small school is the heart beat of its local community. With Covid some have become a focal point."
Parents like Janine and Gareth Phillips, whose son Bailey, seven, attends Llanbedr Primary, say small class sizes including a wide mix of year groups at small schools means the younger ones learn from older peers and move forward faster. Critics of small schools say there are more opportunities and economies of scale at larger schools. Powys Council has said it also needs to address inequality in Welsh medium provision.
The smallest schools in Wales and those that have closed in the last five years:
WalesOnline asked all 22 councils in Wales how many small schools they had and if any had shut in the last five years. These are the responses from those which replied :
Anglesey
In the last five years three new schools have been built on Anglesey to replace 10 which have closed. They were:
Ysgol Niwbwrch, Ysgol Dwyran, Ysgol Llangaffo, Ysgol Bodorgan shut April, 2019, and replaced by Ysgol Santes Dwynwen.
Ysgol Ffrwd Win, Ysgol Llanfachraeth, Ysgol Cylch y Garn shut August, 2017, and replaced by Ysgol Rhyd y Llan.
Ysgol Y Parc, Ysgol Thomas Ellis, Ysgol Llaingoch shut August, 2017, and replaced by Ysgol Cybi.
Wrexham
No small schools are currently subject to consultation.
In 2019 Ysgol Pontfadog village school in Ceiriog Valley, near Wrexham, closed its doors after 110 years despite more than 1,300 objections.
Wrexham councillors told an emotionally-charged meeting they would close the primary school to save almost £100,000.
More than 1,300 objections were made against the plan to send pupils to the dual-language Ysgol Cynddelw two miles away.
Powys
There are 65 schools in the county with 200 or less pupils and 34 schools with 100 or less.
Llangedwyn Church in Wales School is the smallest school in Powys with 16 pupils.
The following schools are currently under consultation or plans for closure in Powys:
Mount Streets Infants School, Mount Streets Junior School and Cradoc Primary School (proposal is to merge these three schools and create a new primary school).
Llanbedr Church in Wales School, Castle Caereinion Church in Wales School, Llanfihangel Rhydithon CP School, Llanfechain Church in Wales School, Llangedwyn Church in Wales School; Ysgol Bro Cynllaith.
The following schools shut in the last five years:
Whitton school shut December 2015 (15 pupils)
Nantmel School shut December 2016 (15 pupils).
There have also been school mergers (two schools in Newtown – Hafren and Ladywell Green Infants School were merged to create Ysgol Calon Y Dderwen, which opened in September); the primary and high school in Llanfyllin were merged to create an all-through school, Ysgol Llanfyllin, which opened in September, 2020; Ysgol Cwm Banwy opened in September, 2020 following the merger of Banw Community Primary School and Llanerfyl Church in Wales Foundation School.
Cllr Phyl Davies, cabinet member for education and property, said: “The strategy for transforming education in Powys 2020-2030 is one of the most important documents that the council has produced following extensive engagement with learners, the teaching profession and the wider public, who expect us to deliver change that will benefit all learners.
“The strategy will not only help us to transform the learner experience and entitlement for all our learners but also help to address the significant challenges facing our education in Powys.
“These challenges include a high proportion of small schools in the county, decreasing pupil numbers, high number of surplus places, inequality in access to Welsh-medium education, limited post-14 and post-16 offer and inequality in access to special education needs / additional learning needs provision.
“Difficult and significant decisions need to be made if we are to deliver this strategy. The proposals we have developed to date have not been reached lightly. They have been challenged by senior leaders within the council at every step during their development and, as part of this process, we have also sought independent legal advice to ensure that they are robust.
“All consultations around school proposals are held in accordance with the Welsh Government’s school organisation code, which does not require meetings to be held as part of the consultation process. We do meet with governors, school staff and learners to seek their views on our proposals.
“Members of the public are given an opportunity to participate and give their views on proposals as part of the consultation process.
“I want to reassure our residents that all our proposals have been and will be developed robustly and that learners are put at the forefront of our decision-making. When the time comes to engage with schools’ communities, we will provide them with the platform to give their views, which will be considered fully by the council.
“We want the best for all our learners and I believe that this strategy will see us deliver a legacy that will allow learners to thrive and reach their potential and compete with the rest of the world.”
Rhondda Cynon Taf
There are five schools with 100 or less pupils in RCT.
Rhigos Primary is the smallest with 66 pupils.
Two schools are currently under consultation or plans for closure.
The plan is to amalgamate 124-pupil Cefn Primary with 163-pupil Craig yr Hesg Primary and create a new school with 21st Century Schools investment. Consultation on the plan is yet to commence and there is no date, but it will not be in the next 12 months, the council said.
In August, 2018, the following schools were closed and new schools were created as part of a wider RCT school reorganisation strategy:
Llwyncelyn Infants – 68 pupils
Porth Infants – 73 pupils
Porth Junior – 124 pupils
Penygraig Infants – 142 pupils
Penygraig Juniors – 126 pupils
Tonypandy Primary – 132 pupils
Ysgol y Eos – 88 pupils
The reasons for the school organisation proposals were “multi-faceted and a part of a wider strategic decision”, RCT said .
Bridgend
Bridgend has 13 schools with less than 200 pupils.
There is only one school in Bridgend with fewer than 100 pupils, Tynyrheol Primary School with 54 pupils.
None of these schools are currently under consultation or plans for closure.
Bridgend has not shut any small schools in the last five years.
Caerphilly
Eight schools in Caerphilly have 100 or less pupils. The smallest are Cwm Glas Infants with 49 and Deri Primary with 76. A total of 40 schools in Caerphilly have less than 200 pupils.
Abertysswg primary (109 Pupils) and Pontlottyn Primary (92 pupils) were amalgamated to form part of the Idris Davies 3-18 school in January, 2018
There are no current plans to shut any small schools.
Torfaen
There are no schools with under 100 pupils but three have 200 or less.
Ponthir is the smallest school with 104 pupils.
There are no current plans to close any school.
Monmouthshire
A total of 16 schools have less than 200 pupils and three less than 100.
Llandogo Primary School is the smallest school with 73 children.
The Council currently has no strategic plans to close any of its small schools.
Monmouthshire has not closed any of its small schools within the last 5 years.
Carmarthenshire
School campaigners said it felt like Christmas had come early earlier this month after the council decided not to close two primaries - for now.
Ysgol Mynyddygarreg near Kidwelly, and Ysgol Blaenau near Llandybie both have sizeable spare capacity, but cabinet members decided at a meeting on December 6 to postpone any closure decision.
Instead they are extending a county-wide review of school provision and will publish new proposals for primary education in Kidwelly and Llandybie in due course.
Opposition leader, Cllr Rob James, said the “sword of Damocles” was still hanging over the two schools.
Sue Woodward, chairwoman of governors at Ysgol Mynyddygarreg, said: “We are overjoyed that the council has listened to our campaign. We are so relieved. It gives us a semblance of a future. We have had this hanging over us since 2004. We have got a long way to go, and as a school we still need to sort a lot of things out.”
She also said investment was needed in the school building itself.
“It is the centre of the community,” she said. “The number of houses in the village has doubled in 10 years, and we need new facilities. The school really is the hub.”
A total of 58 schools in Carmarthenshire have 200 or fewer pupils, while 35 schools in Carmarthenshire have less than 100 pupils.
The smallest school is Ysgol Y Fro with 21 pupils.
The following schools shut in the last five years:
Llansadwrn Primary shut April, 2017
Llanwrda Primary shut April, 2017
Maesybont Primary shut April, 2019
Tremoilet Primary shut April, 2019
Abernant Primary shut July, 2021
The council said: “A decision to proceed with a proposal to discontinue any school would be made based on a number of individual factors inclusive of pupil numbers and projections, school budget, and building/resources condition and suitability.
“Whilst this list is not exhaustive it provides an idea of the considerations of the local Authority.”
Ceredigion
Closure notices were issued to Dihewyd, Ciliau Parc and Felinfach in 2019. The council said they would close when the replacement Ysgol Dyffryn Aeron was ready .
Now, five years after proposals were first put on the table, land has been purchased in the village of Felinfach, directly next to the village’s football club and changing rooms.
The council has closed the following schools in the past five years, with all three closing in September, 2019:
Cilcennin (six pupils)
Trewen (eight pupils)
Beulah (15 pupils)
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire has 37 schools with less than 200 pupils and 21 with less than 100 pupils
The smallest school in Pembrokeshire is Ysgol Llanychllwydog which has 26 pupils.
These are all the schools in Pembrokeshire shut in the last five years:
Hakin Community School and Hubberston VC School closed in 2017 and replaced with new Gelliswick VC School.
Angle VC School, Stackpole VC and Orielton CP School shut in 2017 and replaced by new Penrhyn VC School.
Ysgol Dewi Sant, Ysgol Solva and Ysgol Bro Dewi shut in 2018 and replaced by Ysgol Penrhyn Dewi 3-16 school (three sites retained).
Ysgol Glan Cleddau shut in 2018 replaced by new 3-16 school established Ysgol Caer Elen
The Meads Infants School shut and Milford Haven Junior School shut in 2018 to form Milford Haven Community Primary School (two sites retained).
Sir Thomas Picton School and Tasker Milward VC School shut in 2018 to form the new Haverfordwest High VC School. Two sites retained, but new build on site to be occupied from Sept, 2022.
Mount Airey Infants shut in 2019.
Haverfordwest VC Juniors shut in 2019.
A council spokesperson said schools were shut for multiple reasons: “There are a number of reasons, including; financial viability, excessive surplus places, insufficient demand from local families (i.e. choosing to send children elsewhere), condition and suitability of school buildings, inability to recruit headteachers, or as part of a capital investment to improve facilities at another adjacent school or a new area school.”
Cardiff
Wales’ largest local education authority has 12 schools with less than 200 pupils and none with less than 100 pupils
The city’s smallest school is St Mellons CW Primary School which has 106 pupils on roll. That is followed by St Cuthbert’s RC Primary School with 107 pupils and Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Pen-y-Groes with 112.
The council hasn’t shut any small schools in the last five years and has no current plans to shut any.
Merthyr
There are six schools in Merthyr with less than 200 pupils.
The smallest school in the county is Bedlinog Primary School with 100 pupils, including nursery age children.
Merthyr has no plans to shut any of its small schools.
To get the latest email updates from WalesOnline click here
