Council to consider closure of two schools despite strong opposition

Richard Evans, Local Democracy Reporter

Councillors are set to debate proposals to shut two north Wales schools despite claims £700k was spent on the refurbishment of one site just last year.

Conwy County Council’s education and skills overview and scrutiny committee will discuss the proposals tomorrow (Tuesday, 2 June) ahead of a cabinet meeting later this month, where councillors will consider issuing statutory notices for the closure of Ysgol Betws y Coed and Ysgol Ysbyty Ifan.

The proposals have sparked strong opposition from residents, former pupils, and parents.

It follows a public consultation in which respondents were overwhelmingly against the closure plans. Both Ysgol Betws y Coed and Ysgol Ysbyty Ifan have just 14 pupils. The council received 198 responses regarding Ysgol Betws y Coed, with 163 objecting, and a petition opposing the closure signed by 966 people. Now parents of children at the school have spoken of their anger, and believe they could damage their children’s education and the community in the village.

Ysgol Betws y Coed is part of the Capel Coed-Elan Federation Schools, a formal federation established in 2016 that combines it with Ysgol Dolwyddelan and Ysgol Capel Garmon, with all three schools sharing a single headteacher. One 30-year-old mum, who attended the school herself and now has a child there, described the proposal as “a money-saving exercise”.

“It is absolutely ridiculous,” she said. “Out of the three schools in the federation, the largest school – the one that’s had the most pupils and staff over the last few years – is the one being called forward for closure,” she said. “In my opinion, the whole thing is a very short-sighted money-saving exercise, and the education system has really failed to look at the long-term picture as a whole.

“We are supposedly supporting rural schools. Numbers are declining across all the schools; it’s not just that school. Those numbers are affecting everyone. So it’s not a long-term option at all just to close that school. It’s not the best option. They’ll probably just move on to the next little schools to close after that.”

The mum, who has lived in Betws y Coed all her life, believes the closure would have consequences beyond education. “For years I struggled to buy a house here because of how expensive it is. With holiday lets popping up here, there, and everywhere, it was impossible for me to buy a house,” she said.

“I eventually managed to buy here. But if they take away our school, I worry that this community will suffer. The school is what keeps young families in the area. Like myself, people will have to start looking elsewhere. Many young families might be looking to move out of the area if this happens. If it keeps going like this, this won’t be the only school to go. Betws y Coed will become the next Abersoch.”

‘Devastating’

Former pupil Penny Richardson, who also has a grandchild attending the school, said the closure would be “devastating” for the village. “If the school closes, it will be devastating for the community,” she said.

“Yes, Betws y Coed is very touristy, but this is only a small community. We’ve just had over £700,000 spent on our school. We had a new canteen, all new windows, new plumbing. Literally everything has been done. It was finished about a year and a half ago. It’s a total waste of money.”

Mrs Richardson questioned where pupils would go if the school shuts. She said sending children to Ysgol Dolwyddelan would create difficulties because many parents travelled in the opposite direction towards the coast for work, with rural roads also prone to flooding in the winter. She also argued Ysgol Capel Garmon near Llanrwst would struggle to accommodate additional pupils from Betws y Coed because of housing growth in Llanrwst.

Instead, she believes Ysgol Betws y Coed should become an area school. “We’ve got capacity to take 100 kids. We could easily accommodate the other kids, but the excuse is they would have to spend money extending the school. Well, they wouldn’t because the school is big enough – two big yards, fields, a huge canteen – so for us, they haven’t logically looked at it; they dismissed it straight away,” she said.

She added: “People are in shock and can’t believe it has come to this. We’ve put petitions around the village, with over 900 signatures. The council is not taking it into account. There is no point in a public consultation. They’ve just dismissed it.”

The proposal has already attracted criticism from local councillors, while consultation responses highlighted concerns about the impact on communities, Welsh language and culture, educational quality, wellbeing, transport, accessibility, and the long-term sustainability of rural areas.

‘Minimal evidence’

Estyn has previously said there appeared to be “minimal evidence” that the council had sufficiently considered the impact on pupils’ learning and wellbeing – although the inspectorate also acknowledged the authority had provided a rationale based on low pupil numbers, surplus places, and financial pressures.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked Conwy County Council for clarification on the £700K allegedly spent on the school refurbishment.

A spokeswoman for the council commented: “The consultation outcome report on the proposed closure of Ysgol Betws y Coed and the consultation report on the proposed closure of Ysgol Ysbyty Ifan will be considered by the Education and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee at their meeting on 2 June, and then by Cabinet on 9 June.”