Consultation to close two rural Welsh schools rubber-stamped

Richard Evans, local democracy reporter

Senior councillors have unanimously voted in favour of considering the closure of two Welsh-medium primary schools, a decision one rural councillor described as “death by a thousand cuts”.

At a meeting at Conwy ’s Coed Pella HQ today (Tuesday), the cabinet voted in two separate votes in favour of starting the statutory processes of determining the potential closure of Ysgol Ysbyty Ifan in Betws y Coed and Ysgol Betws y Coed.

A report informed councillors that Ysgol Ysbyty Ifan had just 14 pupils, equating to a cost per pupil of £15,637 in 2025/26.

The school is currently led by a headteacher supported by one full-time teacher, one midday supervisor/teaching assistant, one cleaner, and one cook.

With capacity for 100 pupils, Ysgol Betws y Coed also has just 14 pupils.

Ysgol Betws y Coed is currently part of the Capel Coed Elan Federation, which is a collaboration between three small rural schools in the Conwy valley: Ysgol Betws y Coed, Ysgol Capel Garmon, and Ysgol Dolwyddelan.

The school currently employs 2.62 full-time equivalent teaching staff, with 0.95 full-time equivalent support staff split across other federation schools.

A public consultation will now go ahead with both schools – which were described as two of the smallest in Wales – and their communities.

Cllr Goronwy Edwards slammed the proposals. “It is almost death by a thousand cuts as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “I’ve seen it happen in my own ward in Caerhun where… first Rowen and then Tal y Bont.

“I think we need to go back and look at a far more holistic approach for the provision of education in this rural area because the process itself can be so damaging to the communities that are affected by these decisions.”

He added: “There needs to be a far broader consultation on the future provision of schools in that location.”

Costs

Citing costs at Ysgol Ysbyty Ifan, cabinet member for finance Cllr Chris Cater said the cost of pupils at such small schools was high.

“We have to seriously look at the cost per pupil that has been put before us here, £15,000 compared to an average in the county of £5,000,” he said.

“It would be remiss of us to not be considering the future of schools that are costing us this amount per pupil. I don’t like it, but at the end of the day, as finance cabinet member, I’m grappling with a large deficit, and we have to provide a balanced budget at the end of the day to keep this authority going.”

He added that there was evidence that very small pupil numbers at schools wasn’t always good for children’s education.

‘Heart of the community’

But Cllr David Carr also criticised the proposals. “I very much agree with Goronwy (Cllr Edwards),” he said.

“I was living in the Conwy Valley in the Caerhun ward when the schools in the (Conwy) valley were closed, and it did have a significant impact. They are the heart of the community, these schools.

“I think they do promote cohesion, and they retain families in the area. On Chris’ (Cllr Cater’s) point about costs, there are relocation costs we have to pay and transport costs, and I think we need to take those into account when we propose closing those schools. I think there are economic arguments for keeping these schools open, and I think we need to listen to them.”

He added: “I’m happy to go along with the consultation, but I think it has got to be a genuine consultation, and we do actually listen.”

Both votes were unanimous. The results of the consultation will return to councillors for debate in February or March.