Swansea Council should look to develop Felindre school site, not close it, say Plaid AM’s

Plaid Cymru Assembly Members Dr. Dai Lloyd and Bethan Sayed have stated that Swansea Council should look to develop Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Felindre, as opposed to closing the school.

In responding to Swansea Council’s statutory consultation on the proposed closure the Plaid AMs called on the Council to look to protect the school in the area by federating with another school in the short-term and expanding the school’s catchment area.

In a joint statement, Dai Lloyd and Bethan Sayed today stated:

“Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Felindre has a proud history of providing welsh medium education to this rural setting over a number of generations.

“We are clear that we should be protecting and developing Welsh-medium schools, not closing them. The education model in Swansea is based on relatively large primary schools which is different to many communities across Wales, where smaller schools and federations of smaller schools are more common.

“There are models in Wales that show that educational standards can rise under a federated model and we do not believe that this option has been adequately investigated by Swansea Council.”

“It is clear that the leadership and quality of educational provision issues have made a clear contribution to the dramatic decline in pupil numbers over recent years. We must not forget the fact that around 50 pupils in school were as late as 2016, and before that, the numbers had been even higher. This shows that the school's catchment area can sustain more numbers with the right leadership.”

They added:

“We would argue that the Council could also look to expand the school’s catchment area which would yield additional pupils to the school. Whilst other welsh medium schools in Swansea are close to capacity, Felindre clearly at the moment has spare capacity which could help alleviate pressures elsewhere.

"Felindre's catchment area is very small when compared to the other welsh medium schools in Swansea and there is a clear case for this to be reviewed.

“In addition to this, there are plans for new housing developments in the area and we would expect additional demand for Welsh-medium education in the area following this. It could be seen as a premature measure to close Ysgol Felindre until we understand the effects of any new housing developments.

“Losing the school from the community would be a big loss, and there is potential here to change the linguistic nature of the village.”