THE Dyffryn Banw School site in Llangadfan, is where a new Welsh medium Church in Wales school will open soon.

Technically both Dyffryn Banw County Primary School and nearby Llanerfyl Church in Wales Foundation School will be closed on August 31, 2020.

But at the start of the new school year, on September 1, 2020, a new Church in Wales school will be opened at Dyffryn Banw.

The decision on choosing the new school site was made by Powys County Council’s cabinet on Tuesday, April 30.

It was supposed to have been made in March but was postponed as councillors questioned the consultation at a Full Council meeting.

At the time Llanerfyl was the bigger school, but in recent weeks nine pupils had moved from there to Dyffryn Banw.

This means that Dyffryn Banw now has 32 pupils and Llanerfyl is down to 20.

Cllr Aled Davies, finance portfolio holder (Conservative – Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant), lead this process, as education portfolio holder, Cllr Myfanwy Alexander (Independent – Banwy), is the local member and a school governor at Llanerfyl.

A letter from the chair of Llanerfyl Governors, Rhian Owen, read out at the meeting indicated that the process had created deep rifts in the community.

She pointed that it was Dyffryn Banw that had started the school closure process due to a lack of pupils and stressed Llanerfyl governors “had not agreed to the school closing”.

At the original meeting in July 2018, when Dyffryn Banw was supposed to be chosen to close, Cllr Davies had put both schools into the mix of options for the consultation.

Ms Owen said: “This has wrecked a Welsh community and has very likely destroyed the future of Welsh education in the valley.

“Llanerfyl governors have been in discussion with Caereinion High School with a view to a merger.”

Ms Owen added: “By coming to the aid of another school we have been manoeuvred into a situation which is none of our making.

“The partnership with the high school provides us with an opportunity to rebuild from this situation.”

Cllr Aled Davies responded: “Much of the issues raised have been addressed.

“I did not fundamentally change the recommendations but give the option of considering both sites.

“The consultation was very clear, the overwhelming majority, over 80 per-cent of respondents said one school for the valley was the right option and a clear majority that the site for the new school should be at the Banw site.”

“This recommendation will not preclude any closer working relationship with the high school, in fact primary schools working with secondary schools to share resources is encouraged.”

Portfolio holder for Adulr Services, Cllr Stephen Hayes (Independent – Montgomery), added: “I find the letter from the (Llanerfyl) chair of governors quite saddenning, this has clearly been a long drawn out process, and caused ill feeling.

“It will take a lot of hard work to get the communities working together.

“The suitability of the Dyffryn Banw premises  for future development is a significant point and the better facilities that it offers at the moment has been outlined in the report.”

During the consultation held last autumn it was found that 83 per-cent supported merging the existing schools with 14 per-cent against.

Out of a total of 229 responses 61 per-cent wanted to see the new school established at Dyffryn Banw with 35 per-cent against.