AN EDUCATION boss has been asked to clarify, again, what size school he believes is ideal for Powys.
Cllr Phyl Davies was asked again about his views on ideal class sizes at a meeting of the learning and skills committee on Wednesday, December 8, looking at a shake-up of schools in Brecon including merging Mount Street Infants and Junior schools as well as Cradoc community primary school.
At meeting in November he suggested that a “middle hundred” number of pupils would be the ideal, and then clarified that in an ideal world he would like to see 210-pupil schools made up of seven classes of 30 with seven class teachers and a headteacher.
Only four of the council’s 78 primary schools have 210 pupils or more.
Committee chairman Cllr Pete Roberts said: “To help our discussions can you confirm that we are looking as part of this transformation, the aspiration to move to schools of 210 pupils.”
Cllr Davies said: “I was asked a question and I provided an answer based on what an ideal number from my perspective would be, and that’s what I believe.
“The numbers do relate to how we can best resource a school and that 210 is an ideal world scenario.
“I don’t think it has a bearing on strategy, it’s about an equal offer of education across Powys.”
Cllr Davies apologised that his personal views were becoming “involved” in the reorganisation process.
School transformation manager Marianne Evans said: “It’s a question that’s been asked many times over the years, there could be an ideal, but Powys is vast and sparsely populated.
“We need to take into account of all kinds of different things such as geography and location, language, so in some cases a small school may be the only one for miles around.
“It’s not a one size fits all for Powys.”
Cllr Roberts said that clarifying the comments had been “helpful.”
The Brecon plans also include a 360-place English-medium primary, and a new 180-place dual-stream primary school in Sennybridge, replacing the current building at a cost of about £32 million.
Cllr Roberts pointed out that a new school building suggested for Sennybridge would have fewer pupils than Cllr Davies’ ideal of 210.
A decision on the Brecon school’s reorganisation will be taken by Powys’ Independent/Conservative cabinet on Tuesday, December 14.
Under the proposals, merging the Mount Street schools a Cradoc into a “new primary school” would happen by September 2023.
Pupils would then transfer to a new school building in 2025/26.
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