News

Community call for rethink over Welsh medium primary school closure

16 Aug 2026 4 minute read

Dale Spridgeon, Local Democracy Reporter

A community is calling for a rethink over plans to close a Welsh-medium primary school in north Wales.

It comes as Cyngor Gwynedd moves towards the final stages in the process towards the closure of Ysgol Nebo.

The tiny school, near Caernarfon, was one of two – including Ysgol Baladeulyn, at Nantlle – earmarked for closure due to dwindling numbers amid falling birth rates.

Both were said to be in a “vulnerable position through low learner numbers, a high percentage of surplus places and the increased costs per pupil,” council documents said.

The proposal to close Ysgo Nebo was met with dismay and objection from locals and a community group including parents, governors and teachers.

They are now calling for the decision to be postponed, and want the council to re-consider an option to use the school as an additional learning needs [ALN] facility.

Earlier this year, the council’s cabinet approved a recommendation to publish a statutory notice over Ysgol Nebo’s closure on December 31, 2026, with pupils provided with places at Ysgol Llanllyfni from January 1, 2027 onwards.

The council said that considering the future of any school was a “difficult and complex decision” but its priority was to provide “first class education and social experiences” for all its pupils.

A month-long statutory objection period followed the proposal to close the school, ending on June 30, 2026. An ‘objection report’ will be presented to the council’s cabinet in September.

The Pwyllgor Ardal Nebo a Nasareth community group is now calling on the cabinet to reconsider its proposal.

They said they are concerned that the local authority is “pressing ahead with a decision based on incomplete evidence” and that it is “failing to properly consider viable alternatives”.

They argue the council’s 145-page consultation report “fails to answer the overwhelming concerns raised during the consultation process,” and say it “failed to consider” the option to use the school as an ALN facility.

“More than 70 formal responses and two well-attended public meetings proposed a realistic and much needed alternative: retaining Ysgol Nebo as a specialist nurturing school for children who struggle in mainstream education,” it stated.

“Ysgol Nebo could become an innovative pilot centre providing specialist support for children who struggle in mainstream schools while delivering better educational outcomes and long-term savings for the public purse.

“The community argue this option was never properly evaluated despite the growing demand for ALN provision across Gwynedd.”

It states that residents, parents, governors and staff wanted cabinet members to hold off the decision until a forthcoming ALN strategy is published, and that “all reasonable alternatives have been properly assessed and discussed”.

“The community is urging elected members to reject the closure proposal and are asking the Welsh Government and local media to scrutinise whether Gwynedd Council has fully complied with all its obligations before taking an irreversible decision,” it said.

Their statement added: “They are not alleging that the council has acted unlawfully. However, they believe there are significant unanswered questions about whether these public duties have been fully discharged before an irreversible decision is made.”

A Cyngor Gwynedd spokesperson said: “Considering the future of any school is a difficult and complex decision, and Cyngor Gwynedd’s priority is to ensure that all children across the county have opportunities to develop into well-rounded, happy and confident individuals through the provision of first-class educational and social experiences.

“The next step in the process will be the preparation of an Objection Report, which will include a summary of the objections received together with the Council’s response to those objections.

“The Cabinet will consider the contents of the report together with all relevant information before making a final decision on whether to approve the proposal to close Ysgol Nebo on December 31, 2026 and provide places for pupils at Ysgol Llanllyfni from January 1, 2027 onwards.”

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