Nantyglo school's closure on cards (From South Wales Argus)

Nantyglo school's closure on cards

1:38pm Tuesday 23rd June 2009

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A VALLEYS comprehensive school looks doomed as councillors prepare to make a decision on its fate.

Blaenau Gwent Council will meet on Wednesday to outline plans for Nantyglo Comprehensive School.

A council report for the meeting of the executive committee recommends the closure goes ahead on August 31 next year.

Abertillery Comprehensive will be expanded to take in the additional 445 pupils on September 1, 2010, at a cost of £3.5 million.

Sixth form pupils will go to Brynmawr Foundation School.

Since plans for the school were first mooted, parents whose pupils go to the school, as well as feeder schools Ystruth Primary and Coed-y-Garn Primary, collected a 2,000-name petition opposing its closure.

More than 600 people also joined a group against the plans on social networking site Facebook.

The council report recommends that notices proposing the closure are now issued.

The move comes after the council said it has to review secondary education because falling pupil numbers are having a negative affect on the viability of schools.

Nantyglo has 47 percent surplus places, below the Assembly’s recommended roll of 700 pupils for a school teaching ages from 11 to 18.

The council asked for parents’ preference on what to do with children starting Year 7 and those in Year 11 in September 2010.

From a response of 24 people, 21 said they would prefer Year 7 pupils start at Abertillery immediately, with the GCSE pupils staying at Nantyglo.

Capacity at Abertillery would increase from 920 to 1,100 following the upgrade.

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