Local MP has 'major concerns' about education shake-up

Under the preferred option being discussed at an extraordinary meeting tomorrow (Thursday), Ysgol Bro Gwaun, Ysgol Dewi Sant, Sir Thomas Picton, Tasker Milward and Ysgol Gymraeg Glan Cleddau will all close.

In their place will be new 11-16 and 3-16 schools on the current sites of Sir Thomas Picton, Tasker Milward and Ysgol Bro Gwaun.

Mr Crabb said: “I am very surprised at the approach being taken by Pembrokeshire County Council to our local secondary schools. I have major concerns about both the scale of the proposed reorganisation and also the disjointed nature of the plans. They seem more like a halfway house than a stable solution.

“I am especially worried about the impact of these plans on St Davids, both socially and economically. The closure of Ysgol Dewi Sant would rip the heart out of the city.”

Mr Crabb, a former Tasker Milward pupil, added: “The proposals for Haverfordwest also don’t look right to me. Personally speaking, I believe that Haverfordwest has benefited greatly from having two secondary schools and I would be desperately sad if Tasker Milward were ever to close.

 “Pembrokeshire County Council needs to be on top of its game to handle this major issue. I am concerned that in its current position, it may lack the strategic direction to take decisions which are in the very best long-term interests of the young people of Pembrokeshire.”

Preseli Pembrokeshire AM Paul Davies has echoed Mr Crabb's concerns.

He said: "The key objective of any school reorganisation plans must be to improve education standards for children and young people in Pembrokeshire. However, these proposals raise a number of questions over how this will result in an improvement in standards and they clearly seem to ignore the views of local communities right across Pembrokeshire.

“The proposal to close Ysgol Dewi Sant would have a devastating effect on the community and many local people have contacted me to raise concerns about the effect that this closure would have on children and young people in the area. Indeed, the proposals for Haverfordwest are also very worrying and require much more scrutiny and engagement with the local community."

Mr Davies added: “Pembrokeshire County Council must reconsider these proposals and find a way to deliver education services locally that also meets the needs of communities right across the County. This seems to me to be a hotch-potch reorganisation that lacks any strategic vision for education services in Pembrokeshire. We need a first class education service that supports children and young people and results in an improvement in standards."