Controversial £37m schools plan approved
CONTROVERSIAL £37m plans to overhaul education in Pontypridd have been given final approval by councillors despite widespread opposition.
RCT Council’s cabinet agreed to implement the proposals yesterday, despite 435 objections being sent to the council.
Two new 3-16 “super-schools” will be built on the sites of Pontypridd High School and Hawthorn High School and there will be a new Welsh-medium school at Heol y Celyn Primary School in Rhydyfelin.
It will see the closure of Pontypridd High, Hawthorn High, Hawthorn Primary, Heol y Celyn, YGG Pont Sion Norton and Cilfynydd Primary.
Sixth forms at Pontypridd High and Hawthorn High will also close with provision moved to Bryncelynnog Comprehensive School and Coleg y Cymoedd in Nantgarw.
The proposal to close Cardinal Newman’s sixth form will be decided by the Welsh Government.
A campaign called Our Children First, or Ein Plant Gyntaf, was set up to oppose the proposals.
The group’s opposition has been based on the following:
■ That the consultation has been inadequate;
■ They dispute the figures the council uses on school performance and spare places;
■ The creation of a two-tier education system post-16 with some pupils in better-off families having access to “centres of excellence” and others not, mainly because of increased travel distances;
■ The increased distances pupils will have to travel to access Welsh-medium education, which may put some parents off it and create a barrier to Welshmedium education in north Pontypridd;
■ The generation of extra traffic will increase pollution and the potential impacts of children going to school so close to the A470.
Councillor Heledd Fychan, Plaid Cymru councillor for Pontypridd Town, said she was not against change but wanted alternative proposals to be considered.
She said: “The consultation doesn’t show good practice in terms of putting the law into action.
“I urge Cabinet to listen to people’s concerns and to take them seriously. The council has not collaborated and people are not involved in decisions.”
She specifically raised the issue of some parents choosing English-medium education instead of Welsh-medium education because of the closure of Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Pont Sion Norton.
“The decision should be deferred. It would be better than going ahead with flawed plans.”
Cllr Mike Powell, Liberal Democrat
councillor for Trallwng, said it was “discriminatory” that only some schools will benefit.
“Different levels of education are being imposed on different areas, which is discriminatory and unfair. I ask for logic and consistency.”
Cllr Stephen Belzak, an Independent councillor for Cilfynydd who has opposed the proposals because of the exposure of pupils to pollution from the A470, said it will generate extra traffic and claimed the council hasn’t responded to his climate change argument.
But Paul Mee, the council’s director of public health, protection and community services, said: “We take air quality very seriously and we have a good understanding of the air quality.”
He said the current indication was that they were well within the air quality standards.
Cllr Lewis Hooper, Conservative councillor for Tonteg, focused on what he said was an attempt to “downplay” the number of people who actually objected to the proposals.
He said the number of people who supported increased council tax using the budget consultation simulator was much lower than the number of people who objected to these proposals, and claimed there were “double standards” at play.
But council leader Andrew Morgan said this was wrong as more than 3,000 people had supported the council’s budget proposals in total.
He also said the authority had gone “over and above” with consultations on the education proposals and cabinet members have had full sight of all the responses and impact assessments.
There were three public speakers speaking against the proposals at the cabinet meeting.
The first speaker said the changes would “turn the clock back” on progress made with Welsh-medium education in north Pontypridd and claimed some children faced being alienated.
She described the proposals “power-led and a tick-box” exercise.
She said: “I implore the council to serve the people and not themselves.”
Gaynor Davies, the council’s director for education and inclusion, said there were too many small and unviable sixth forms and that retention rates were poor, which impacts on school budgets.
She pointed to the strong performance of both Bryncelynnog and Coleg y Cymoedd and said they were looking to strengthen the post-16 education offer.
She also said that due to the number of surplus secondary school places in RCT the council was essentially funding one too many secondary schools at the moment. as