Powys is losing its brightest pupils to schools outside the county for post-16 education, a senior education official has confirmed.

The admission came during a meeting of Powys County Council’s Learning and Skills Scrutiny Committee on Monday, June 16, where councillors and lay members discussed a report on school standards and improvement.

The report highlighted a concerning decline in GCSE and A-level performance, with Powys now falling well below previous standards. In A-level performance, the county ranks below the Wales average in five out of six results categories.

Only 65 per cent of Powys students achieved three A-levels at grades A* to E – placing the county in joint 19th position nationally. In contrast, neighbouring Ceredigion tops the table, with 77 per cent reaching the same benchmark.

Cllr Gareth E Jones (Powys Independents) asked: “Have you done any work around the significant number of learners that are going out of county for their post-16 education to Hereford, Shrewsbury and Merthyr?

“What impact do those learners going out of county have on the overall performance of post-16?

“My guess would be that better quality learners go out of county, and if they had stayed our overall performance may be better.”

Head of school improvement and learning Anwen Orrells said: “You would be correct in assuming that the more able are the ones that are leaving.”

She said that the council knew “how many” post-16 pupils were out of county but didn’t have details of their results from last summer.

Former council leader Cllr James Gibson-Watt (Liberal Democrat), who stepped down last month, has remained in the cabinet to oversee the early stages of a review into post-16 education in Powys.

Council officers have already backed a preferred option that could see the closure of all English-medium sixth forms across the county. Instead, two dedicated sixth form centres would be created – one in Brecon and one in Newtown.

Under the same proposal, Welsh-medium secondary schools would collaborate to form a single sixth form provision, potentially spread across three campuses.

The plan has already attracted significant criticism, with many warning it could further accelerate the outflow of pupils leaving Powys for education elsewhere.

Cllr Gibson-Watt said: “If ever we needed evidence of some radical reform in post-16, this paper sums it up.

“If you look at the details of the decline in performance, it is quite shocking.

“We have to create a system that allows them to stay in county.

“We’re in a situation where only 65 per cent are getting A* to E grades.

“Let’s be frank, an A-level grade below C is not much use to anyone in life, particularly to get into higher education.

“I remember Powys was consistently in the top three counties for GCSE and A-level outcomes, and here we are languishing in the bottom quartile.”

Between 2010 and 2019, Powys saw a 33 per cent drop in sixth form numbers, from 1,445 to 978 students. Welsh Government funding fell accordingly, from £6.5 million to £4.4 million.