THE planned closure of Brecon High School’s Welsh medium stream looks set to be rejected by the new council cabinet.
The former independent administration, that ran the council until May’s local government elections, agreed in March education through Welsh should no longer be provided at the secondary school from this September.
Instead Welsh medium provision would be centralised in Builth Wells.
But new cabinet member for education, Councillor Myfanwy Alexander, is recommending the cabinet reject the closure proposal and keep the Welsh stream at Brecon High.
The new Independent Group/Conservative coalition cabinet will meet at the Elim Church, in Brecon, on Monday, July 3 to consider responses to the previous closure decision and Cllr Alexander’s recommendation.
Her report to the cabinet says: "The preferred choice is to reject then proposal to close the Welsh-medium stream at Brecon High School from the
31st August 2017, and to retain a Welsh-medium stream at Brecon
High School.
"The reasons for the recommendation are as follows:
i) To ensure the continued provision of Welsh-medium education in Brecon
ii) To ensure that Welsh-medium pupils can access provision in the new
school building planned for Brecon High School
iii) To support the Welsh Government vision to create 1 million Welsh
speakers by the year 2050."
Parents and pupils had objected to the closure of the Welsh stream and said it would impact on the nearby Welsh medium primary Ysgol y Bannau, reduce the numbers learning through Welsh from Brecon and deny them the opportunity of attending the new £22m school being built on the site of Brecon High.
The previous council said numbers in the Welsh stream in Brecon were falling and the school’s choice of subjects available in Welsh was reducing with very few on offer at GCSE level. It said centralising provision at Builth Wells would make Welsh language education more sustainable.The cabinet meeting on Monday, July 3 will take place at the Elim Church, Canal Road, Brecon and starts at 10.30am.