A petition against plans to convert a Powys school into a Welsh-medium site has been handed in to Powys County Council.

Over 1,200 signatures were received against the proposals, which would see Machynlleth's Ysgol Bro Hyddgen change from a dual-stream school to a Welsh-medium school, to be introduced on a phased basis, starting with reception in September 2022.

Last month, the council issued a statutory notice on the proposals, marking the start of a 28-day period when the council would consider objections to the plans.

The scheme has sparked controversy in the school's Dyfi valley catchment area, with the county council saying the mainly Welsh language education would allow pupils to be fully bilingual and able to communicate effectively in both languages.

However critics have argued that the existing dual-stream set-up promotes "greater inclusion", and that retaining the existing arrangements would offer pupils and parents a right to education in their choice of language.

Parent Dai Holt handed over the petitions on behalf of campaigners to Councillor Phyl Davies, Portfolio Holder for Education, earlier today (Wednesday, July 14).

"We managed to get 1,219 signatures with both the online and paper petitions combined," said Mr Holt.

"We would like to thank each and every person who has supported us by signing the petition and sending in their objections."

The window for objections closes tomorrow, July 15, after which Powys County Council will consider any submissions and make a final decision on the future of the school.