‘Shutting school will be final nail in the coffin for town’:
Town could be left without one for first time since 1605
ONE of Anglesey’s major towns could be left without a primary school for the first time since the 17th century as part of a major education shake-up.
Council officials are weighing up options in the Seiriol area of the island, which could see up to two of its three primary schools shut and/or merged in a cost cutting measure.
Among the options under consideration are to shut Ysgol Beaumaris’ which faces a £1m repair bill, with the site being earmarked for a possible Extra Care housing scheme.
If the school shut, leaving the town without a school for the first since since 1605, its 37 pupils would instead transferred to Llandegfan or Llangoed schools, whose futures also remain uncertain.
But the proposals, which are currently out to public consultation, have come under fire despite Ysgol Beaumaris operating at only 26% capacity with 106 empty spaces.
Town councillor, Stan Zalot, said: “Losing the school would be the final nail in the coffin of Beaumaris.
“We’ve lost our last bank already, but I feel that young couples would be driven away if there was no school to send their kids to.
“There’s a perception in some quarters that Beaumaris is thriving, but there’s been a chronic lack of invest- ment over the years and if the school faces such a hefty maintenance bill, that’s only because of a lack of spending on it by the council.”
Both Llangoed and Llandegfan schools are currently running at close to full capacity.
Anglesey Council’s report notes that the maintenance costs of bringing the 66 year old school building up to scratch, would be just shy of £1m.
But the options listed in the consultation include shutting Ysgol Beaumaris and sending its pupils to an extended Ysgol Llangoed, which would cost around £630,000 but achieving £109,000 worth of savings.
Sending Beaumaris’ pupils to an extended Ysgol Llandegfan would cost a similar amount, with simply halving the size of Ysgol Beaumaris or building a new £7.3m area school replacing all three, also an option.
The council report notes: “Work to share information regarding the Council’s preferred option for an Extra Care site in the Seiriol area will take place in the next few months. The preferred site is the Ysgol Gynradd Beaumaris site.
“Developing possible Extra Care facilities on this site will not affect the result of the consultation on the future of Ysgol Beaumaris.
“It is foreseen that this development can be located on the same site as the present school conditional upon usual considerations.”
The authority, which is currently building new multi million pound area schools in Holyhead and Llanfaethlu, with another in the pipeline in Newborough, has stressed the importance of reducing the number of empty spaces in its primary schools as it faces savings of £10m over the next three years.
At presesnt, Anglesey’s per pupil spend of £4721 a year, is the second highest of Wales’ 22 councils.
The public consultation remains open until July 30.