Opening of new Welsh-medium primary school postponed for two years

Plans to postpone the opening of a new 210 place Welsh-medium primary school by two years have been approved.

Members of the council’s executive board unanimously voted to delay the implementation of the school until September 2021.

It comes after just no first preference applications for the reception class and just two for nursery were submitted for the upcoming academic year.

Wrexham Council had been looking to set up a ‘seed’ school in the former Hafod Y Wern school in Caia Park from September 2019, before eventually relocating the school to Borras.

But the lack of applications meant that executive board members were today asked to allow the postponement of the school’s opening.

Lead Member for Education, Cllr Phil Wynn, said the commitment to open the new Welsh-medium school had not been diminished but had been set back a year or two.

He added that it was a “prudent decision” to postpone opening the school until September 2021 when it will be based permanently at the former Borras Park infants site.

Cllr Derek Wright called for clarification on how much money had been spent setting up the seed school and where the funds for the building will be distributed.

Education officer Ian Roberts explained that no money had been spent on the seed school and that the revenue would be redirected into the schools budget to be redistributed to other schools.

Cllr Carrie Harper, who has already spoke about plans to postpone the school’s opening, said: “I have some concerns the new school wasn’t promoted as well as it could have been to prospective parents. For instance it didn’t have a name.

“What has been done to promote new provision and what you’re planning to do over the next two years so we do have 60 children in that school when it opens.

“Secondly where are the 30 children in the reception class going to come from in 2021. Will they be moved from other schools and if not how will that work?”

Mr Roberts noted that the lack of applications had been “disappointing”, adding: “The process we’ve undertaken with the seed school at Hafod Y Wern has been very similar to that of Ysgol Bro Alun opened. It was placed within admissions booklet for parents to see and available on the website.

“Yes without a name because the decision in respect of school name is that of temporary governing body, not of the local authority. It’s confirmed by the local authority, but it’s a decision from the governing body.

“It didn’t have any negative implications on numbers going into Ysgol Bro Alun at the time and we’ve taken forward the same process.

“There is a need to increase and improve level of communications with advertising, we will be looking at the strategy in that respect.

“When the school opens it will be up to parents whether they move their children from the current school or not, that’s not for the local authority.

“If there’s room in school in 2021 in nursery and reception, they can make that choice. It will be nursery and reception only and 2022 they will move through the school.”