More schools consigned to the history books (From Western Telegraph)

More schools consigned to the history books

A programme of village school closures in Pembrokeshire claimed three more casualties this week.

The end of the summer term on Friday consigned Dale, Waterston and Moylegrove Schools to the history books.

Parents, governors and teachers of Moylegrove School battled for 18 months trying to save it. They were even prepared to mount a legal challenge. Advice from solicitors and a barrister was taken, but they were refused legal aid and could not afford to continue.

Moylegrove parent-governor Kathryn Robson said: "We fought hard to keep our school open. We went to appeal but unfortunately they went with the county council's decision to close."

The axing of the Dale and Waterston sites came after a period of major change in the 1990s.

They were two of four schools federated as Coastlands CP School - theoretically one school with a single headteacher but at four different sites.

As pupil numbers fell and the school buildings deteriorated, Pembrokeshire County Council acted to close Dale and Waterston Schools, relocating pupils to the two remaining sites at Herbrandston and St Ishmaels.

A county council spokesman said the consolidation resulted from a request by the school governors. Parents are largely philosophical about the closures. Farmer Huw Davies, of Brunt Farm, Dale, has two grandchildren at Dale School. In September they will start the autumn term at St Ishmaels School.

He believed numbers had fallen too low - 27 at Dale and 26 at Waterston - to justify their futures.

Since Pembrokeshire County Council was established in 1996, five primary schools have closed, six pairs of schools have merged while Dale, Waterston, Herbrandston and St Ishmaels were federated under a single headteacher, Mrs Joan Palmer.

But parents in the Hermon area are refusing to give up their fight to retain their local primary school. They have begun legal proceedings to challenge the authority's closure proposals.

Pictured: At Waterston, a school dating back to the mid-1800s, the final day was marked with a big party for the children. The staff, who were left to pack up the classrooms on Friday, have been spared redundancy with alternative positions at Herbrandston and St Ishmaels School. PICTURE: Western Telegraph (WTNO1180H03).