Education chiefs propose consultation to close school with four pupils.

Alec Doyle Local Democracy Reporter

A school with only four pupils could be facing closure if a Welsh council’s Executive Board launches a consultation on its future.

Froncysyllte Community Primary School is part of the Dee Valley Federation, alongside Garth Community Primary and Pentre Church in Wales Voluntary Controlled School.

All three rural schools are under review due to falling pupil numbers and on Tuesday, September 16 Wrexham County Borough Council’s Executive Board will be asked to approve a consultation process to decide their fate.

According to the documents, Garth has a pupil capacity of 105, with actual pupil numbers for 2024/25 at 45. Pentre’s capacity is 70 with pupil numbers last year at 42.

Froncysyllte can take up to 84 children and last year had just 11. This year that has dropped further to just four pupils. It has also not admitted any pupils to its nursery or reception classes for the last three years.

Options

In the report to Executive Board it details three options: maintain the status quo, making no changes; close Froncysyllte Community Primary School, with pupils offered places at alternative schools from September 2026 or close all three schools in the Dee Valley Federation to create a single, amalgamated school on one site.

Option three has already been ruled out as no suitable site for an amalgamated school has been identified. Officers’ preferred choice is to close Froncysyllte School – but the final decision will depend on the consultation result.

If supported the consultation would run from September 23-November 7 with the consultation findings reported to Executive Board in January.

Lead member for Education Cllr Phil Wynn said: “We have decided to go to consultation on options one and two.

“When we started looking at this Froncysyllte School had 11 pupils. Some have moved on to high school or other schools and now there are four.

“None of those children live in the village so both from a financial aspect and for the wellbeing of those children our preferred option is option two.”

Parents made aware

On paper Froncysyllte is the only one of the three in a financial surplus, but Cllr Wynn explained that was due to schools receiving a fixed cost payment for operational purposes on top of the pupil premium.

Froncysyllte is also the most developed of the three communities where these schools sit. Previous school consultations in Wrexham have highlighted the fact birth rate data can by cyclical, with some schools partially mothballed so they can be brought back into use if the population increases.

Parents choosing their schools for September 2026 have been made aware in their Schools handbook that Froncysyllte may be under consultation and may not be an option, however they can still select is as the consultation may result in an alternative solution where the school remains open.

Asked why closing the school in the most densely-populated area was the preferred option, Cllr Wynn said it was a matter for the consultation.

“We don’t want to get into the realms of predetermining the outcome of the consultation,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going to come out of the consultation process so I have to stay silent until that statutory process has played out.”