Free transport will not be provided to take children to the next-nearest faith school should a north Powys primary shut down under current council plans.

Powys Council's cabinet is expected to press on with the closure of Castle Caereinion Primary School at a meeting on Tuesday.

Should members go ahead with the plans as recommended, it will mean that pupils' next-closest Church in Wales Primary School will be over four miles away, in Welshpool.

But Powys Council says it is not currently planning to provide free transport to get children to that school, despite a similar situation arising elsewhere in Wales recently.

At a meeting of the council's learning and skills scrutiny committee on Thursday, July 8, Cllr Amanda Jenner said: “I came across a recent judicial review to do with transport to faith schools.

“A local authority (Swansea) changed their school transport policy based on that case to get free transport to a faith school.”

“I wonder if the council is aware of that case and taking it into consideration here.”

School transformation manager Marianne Evans said: “We are aware and had legal advice.

“The issue here whether the parents in Castle Caereinion chose the school because it is church school or a local one."

Ms Evans explained that the department would not know how big a problem this is, until the cabinet decide, after which parents would decide where to send their children.

She added: “At this stage we’re sticking with the current transport policy, which is not to provide transport, however there is an appeals process so there is that option should transport be refused.

“It’s an issued raised by the St Asaph diocese. We are aware of this.”

Where a faith school is closed, the expectation is that pupils are offered places at a similar school.

The school has 23 pupils at the moment and is projected to go down to 19 by 2025.