Welsh rural school’s ‘closure threat’

Jan 28 2008 by Sally Williams, Western Mail

SMALL rural schools in Wales are “less protected” from closure than they are in England, a campaign group warned yesterday.

The National Association for Small Schools (Nass) says between 100 and 300 schools across the UK could shut their doors because councils are under pressure to not only cut the number of spare places but also not to have too many schools.

Nass chairman Bill Goodhand said, “In 1998 then School Standards Minister Stephen Byers pledged to end the ‘stream of closures’ that had seen more than 450 village schools lost in the preceding 15 years.

“But WAG and LEAs in Wales appear to have disregarded this policy.”

A Welsh Assembly Government spokesman defended the WAG’s policy on rural school closures, saying, “The rate of closure of rural schools remains low, at about three to four per year on average.

“In none of these cases have the alternative schools on offer been in large towns many miles away – most have been other village schools within no more than three or four miles of the closing school.

“Many of the closures have been associated with major investment in the remaining schools.”