Education officers have changed their mind over which school site they intend to close in the Banwy Valley in a bid to save Powys County Council (PCC) cash.
Following a consultation last autumn, the officers have chosen Dyffryn Banw Primary School site at Llangadfan as the location for a merged school, writes Elgan Hearn from the Local Democracy Service.
This means that Llanerfyl Church in Wales Foundation school will be closed, saving nearly £50,000 a year.
PCC says that a new Welsh-medium Voluntary Aided Church in Wales School be opened at the Dyffryn Banw site from September 1, 2020. Both schools would be shut the day before, August 31, 2020.
This is a complete U-Turn from the recommendations to Cabinet in July 2018, which suggested closing Dyffryn Banw and keeping Llanerfyl with pupils transferred to the school which is two-and-a-half miles away.
A report on the consultation findings will be heard by councillors at the Full Council Meeting on Thursday, March 7.
There, recommendations made by councillors will form part of the whole report on the school closures that will be looked at by the cabinet for decision om March 12.
The consultation found that 83% supported merging the existing schools and, out of 229 responses, 61% wanted to see the new school established at Dyffryn Banw.
The report says: “A financial analysis of the two options was included. This estimated that the proposal to close the schools and establish a new Voluntary Aided Church in Wales School in the current site of Banw CP school could result in an annual saving of £49,226.
Other reasons behind backing Dyffryn Banw include:
· The building is larger and provides an opportunity to add pre-school provision there
· The building has been assessed as being more suitable for curriculum delivery purposes
· It has a hall on site
· Llanerfyl Church in Wales school is reputed to be one of the oldest in the whole of Powys
· The school building is owned by the Priscilla Foster Trust, trustees and the Diocese of St Asaph have been part of the process
Independent councillor for Banwy, Cllr Myfanwy Alexander, the education portfolio holder, is a school governor at Llanerfyl and has declared an interest, taking her out of the decision making process.