Parent Voices Concern Over School Closure
Sharon Morgan, a parent of one of the two remaining pupils at Ysgol Y Garreg in Llanfrothen, Gwynedd, has expressed disappointment over the decision to close the primary school. She believes the local council has overlooked the needs of children in the village.
Both pupils currently enrolled at Ysgol Y Garreg are set to transition to secondary school in September. However, Sharon Morgan, whose son Samuel is one of the two students, emphasized that the closure will prevent other families in the village from accessing the same quality of education her son has received.
Cyngor Gwynedd, the local authority responsible for the area, reported that the cost per pupil at Ysgol Y Garreg was £21,471, which is significantly higher than the county average of £5,998. The council described the decision to close the school as "painful, but unavoidable."
Reasons Behind the Closure
Earlier in the month, Cyngor Gwynedd voted to close Ysgol Y Garreg due to the very low number of pupils attending and the low projections for future enrolment. The school currently has only two pupils, both of whom will soon leave to attend secondary school.
Sharon Morgan criticized the council's approach, stating that more efforts should have been made to keep the school operational.
"It's such a shame – they have forgotten about the children," she said.
"My son learned more in a small village school environment than he ever would have done if he'd had to travel further away.
"I'm worried about those families in the village who have children aged two and three, who won't now get the chance to have the quality education that my son had."
Sharon, a former teacher in Gwynedd, also mentioned that her son and his remaining classmate attempted to protest the closure but felt their efforts were ignored.
"They wrote to David Attenborough as part of a school project, and he replied, but Cyngor Gwynedd didn't even acknowledge their letters," she said.
"It's such a pity – the closure will damage the village.
"Our community in Llanfrothen has fought to keep our pub and our shop, but we couldn't keep the school open."
Council's Perspective on the Closure
Cyngor Gwynedd acknowledged that closing the school was a difficult decision.
The council cited declining pupil numbers across the authority as a key factor making the closure unavoidable. Dewi Jones, cabinet member for education, noted that the number of children in primary schools within Cyngor Gwynedd decreased from approximately 9,000 in 2016 to just over 7,800.
Jones described the closure decision as one of the most challenging he has encountered.
"Nobody goes into education in order to close schools," he said.
"Our ambition is to see schools thriving, children succeeding and communities staying strong."
He emphasized the council's responsibility to address the current realities facing the school.
"The demographic challenges facing some of our rural communities are real," he said.
"However painful it is to acknowledge that, we cannot ignore the facts before us, and in the specific position of Ysgol Y Garreg, it is impossible to ignore the seriousness of the situation.
"That's a substantial reduction, and in light of that, we can't just continue as we are. It forces us to have to change things."
Future Arrangements and Wider Context
Ysgol Cefn Coch, located approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) from Llanfrothen, will become the designated alternative school for the catchment area starting 1 September.
Ysgol Y Garreg is among several schools in Gwynedd scheduled to close this year. Two small schools in Dyffryn Nantlle are set to close at the end of December, and an independent school, St Gerard's in Bangor, will close next month.
According to the latest Welsh government data, 31 council-run schools across Wales have closed since January 2020.
