Plans unveiled for new Welsh-medium secondary school

Mark Mansfield

A new Welsh-medium secondary school could be created under proposals aimed at addressing financial pressures and growing demand for Welsh-language education.

Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Cabinet will consider plans next week to establish the new 11-18 school at the Y Gwyndy site in Caerphilly from September 2027.

The site is currently a satellite campus of Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni, the county borough’s only Welsh-medium secondary school, which operates across Y Gwyndy and its main Gellihaf campus around seven miles apart.

Under the proposals, the satellite arrangement would end and Y Gwyndy would become a separate school, while Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni would continue operating from Gellihaf.

Council papers reveal the proposals have been developed partly in response to the school’s worsening financial position.

Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni ended the 2025/26 financial year with a deficit of £2.717m, up £723,000 from £1.994m a year earlier.

Without intervention, the deficit is projected to increase by around £1m a year despite efforts to reduce expenditure. The council says operating one school across two sites seven miles apart is creating additional financial pressure, including costs associated with staff travelling between the campuses.

Around 650 pupils aged 11 to 16 currently attend Y Gwyndy, which has capacity for 854, while approximately 1,200 pupils attend Gellihaf, which has capacity for 1,210.

Financial modelling carried out by the council indicates that two separate schools could operate sustainably within their annual budgets.

However, the existing £2.7m deficit could not be recovered within five years under the new arrangement and would require a separate solution.

The council says other options for addressing the financial problems would have required significant reductions in staffing, the breadth of the curriculum and educational opportunities.

Sixth-form provision would remain at Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni’s Gellihaf campus, with pupils from both schools continuing to access it under the existing arrangements.

The council says pupils would otherwise continue to attend the same sites, use the same transport arrangements and have access to the same learning environments, meaning the practical impact of creating two schools would be limited.

Viable

Cllr Carol Andrews, Cabinet Member for Education, said: “The proposal to create two separate secondary schools is the most viable and sustainable solution, delivering financial stability while protecting educational standards, maintaining curriculum breadth and minimising disruption to pupils, staff and the wider community.

“It is important that parents get the chance to have their say, so if the proposals are agreed by Cabinet, there would be a six-week consultation to ensure we gather all relevant feedback before any final decision is made.”

The council’s Education and Social Services Scrutiny Committee unanimously backed proceeding to consultation when it considered the plans on September 8.

Cabinet will decide on September 24 whether to launch the formal 42-day consultation. A further report would then be brought back to councillors before any decision was made on progressing the plans.

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