Plans for a village primary school near Brecon to become a Welsh-medium school have been approved by Powys councillors, but the change will be implemented a year later than originally expected.

At a Powys County Council Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, July 14, senior Liberal Democrat and Labour councillors received a report following the consultation into proposals for Sennybridge Primary School to become a Welsh-medium school.

Education chiefs recommended implementing the move to Welsh-medium education on a phased basis to minimise the impact on pupils currently being taught in English at the school.

Initially, there had been calls to postpone the language category change for a year from the original start date of September 2027.

This was because there is already significant upheaval at the school, with the move to Welsh-medium education coming on top of the new school build and the introduction of nursery provision at the site.

Design plans for the proposed new Sennybridge primary school, which will replace the existing building
Design plans for the new Sennybridge Primary School, which will replace the existing building (KIER/Planning documents)

Of the 115 current pupils at the school, 63 are in the Welsh-medium stream and 52 are in the English stream.

The consultation took place from April 15 to May 27, and 64 responses were received by the council.

Education portfolio holder James Gibson-Watt (Liberal Democrat – Glasbury) said: “The trend is that more and more pupils are accessing Welsh-medium education and the Welsh ethos in the school is something that really stands out.

“This direction of travel is very clear.”

Cllr Gibson-Watt continued: “The consultation was a very valuable exercise.

“One of the concerns is that moving to Welsh-medium would reduce the number of pupils.”

He said that “the opposite” had been seen in other Powys schools which had gone through the process of becoming Welsh-medium.

Cllr Gibson-Watt said: “Which tends to show that the demand is there and that this move can be very positive in terms of sustaining a school in a rural area which is actually experiencing a fall in pupil roll numbers.”

He explained that the proposal had slightly changed following the consultation, with the implementation date being moved back a year from September 2027 to September 2028.

Council leader Cllr Jake Berriman (Liberal Democrat – Llandrindod North) said he was “heartened” to see that feedback from the school and governors to move the date back a year had been taken on board.

He asked when the new school building would be open.

Head of school transformation Marianne Evans said it would be completed by October 2027.

Cllr Berriman said: “We have a brand-new school and a period of settling in before moving across (to Welsh-medium).”

Welsh language portfolio holder Cllr Sandra Davies (Labour – Cwm-twrch) said: “I welcome this transition as the portfolio holder responsible for the Welsh language. The people living locally are supportive of this.

“I would have preferred it to go a bit quicker than it is, but I accept the recommendation.”

In February, Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority’s Planning Committee voted to grant planning permission for a new multi-million-pound school building for 120 pupils.

In March, the council announced that the Welsh Government had agreed to fund 65 per cent of the £9.6 million project through its Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme.

Kier Construction has been appointed to build the new school, and work is now underway.