Senior councillors have rubber-stamped a move to close a village primary school campus near Brecon at the end of August.

At a meeting of Powys County Council’s Liberal Democrat/Labour Cabinet today, members received the objections report on the proposal to close the Cradoc campus of Ysgol Golwg Pen y Fan primary school on August 31.

Since merging with Mount Street Infants and Junior School in Brecon to form Ysgol Golwg Pen y Fan in September 2024, Cradoc has lost dozens of pupils.

Education portfolio holder Cllr James Gibson-Watt (Liberal Democrat – Glasbury) explained that there had been one objection made – by the former local county councillor for Cradoc, Iain McIntosh, who was elected to the Senedd at the election earlier this month.

Mr McIntosh’s argument centred on claims that the school capacity figures were wrong – an issue which had been addressed by education chiefs in the objections report.

Cllr Gibson-Watt said: “The current attendance at Cradoc is just 16 out of a total of 230 pupils in the school, the vast majority are being taught at the two campuses that are adjacent to each other in the centre of Brecon.

“The objection is a lengthy one – and the advice we are being given, and I support, is to proceed with the proposal to close the Cradoc campus.

“Reasons for this are that operating on two campuses rather than three will allow (school) leaders to focus efforts more effectively and reduce the complexity and logistical challenges in managing multiple buildings and staff teams.

“That is the real driver here and it is unfair on the headteacher and staff to be managing a school with such an unbalanced spread of pupil numbers.”

He reminded his colleagues that a new larger school for Ysgol Golwg Pen y Fan will be built in the town, and this had always been a reason to merge the schools.

Cllr David Meredith (Labour – Brecon West) is chairman of Ysgol Golwg Pen y Fan school governors.

Cllr Meredith said: “This is a very unique position in which the authority finds itself.

“In all my 50 years either working in education or being a (school) governor, I’ve never encountered a situation like this and trust that lessons will be learned from it.

“There should never have been a decision to amalgamate the three schools until at least a spade had been put in the ground for a new school.

“The effect that decision had on pupils, staff and parents was phenomenal and such a decision must not happen again.”

He sought assurances that there would be no further delays in building the new school.

Council leader Cllr Jake Berriman (Liberal Democrat – Llandrindod North) said the council was “looking to press on” with the project.

Cabinet then went to a vote and unanimously agreed to close Cradoc.

The original decision to merge the schools and move from three sites to a new-build school was taken by the Independent/Conservative administration back in December 2021.

It had been expected that pupils and staff would already be in a new 360-place primary school at Penlan, the former site of Brecon High School.

The target date had been for the new school to be ready during the 2025/2026 financial year.