Anger over Abertillery school closure amid fall in pupil numbers

Ysgol Clydau, a small school in north Pembrokeshire closed its doors for the final time, as term came to an end in July.

Mum Sarah, who has two children at the school – which had 24 pupils on the roll at the start of the academic year – said it was “very, very sad”.

“The school is a thriving school, despite pupil numbers dropping recently,” she said.

“We’ve had a lot of children leaving because of the threat of closure. It’s just a shame – it’s heart-breaking.

“Our community will not be the same again, and the village won’t be the same again.

“I know the pupil numbers are dropping and it’s all about finances, but there’s more to education than finances and the investment should be put into schools”.

Her 11-year-old son, Tristan, is moving on to secondary school in September but he felt “a bit sad” about his six-year-old sister having to transition to a bigger school.

“It’s a small, nice, close school,” he said, on the final day of school. “My sister has to move school now and it’s probably going to be quite hard for her.”

Pembrokeshire Council said it had an ageing population with pupil numbers falling by more than 2,000 since 1996, with a “significant decline” in pupil numbers in the Preseli and Tenby areas.

“The decline is impacting the number of surplus places, and this is more acute in rural areas and tourist areas of the county,” the council stated.

“It is impacting significantly on small schools and is driving more competition between schools for pupil numbers.

“The council has been working for several years on school rationalisation and modernisation, through a series of school organisation proposals”.