Plans to potentially close Tonyrefail primary school to be considered

Plans to potentially close a primary school in Tonyrefail will go out to consultation.
The proposal to close Tref-Y-Rhyg Primary School would see pupils move to Tonyrefail Community School by no later than September 2025 and the catchment area of Tonyrefail Community School would be extended.
A cabinet report said Tref-Y-Rhyg Primary has a capacity of 157 pupils and pupil numbers are projected to steadily decline in future years.
Data shows 82 pupils attend the school, meaning there are almost 48% surplus places, and this is projected to reduce to 54 attending by 2028-29 with 103 (65.6%) surplus places.
The report said the school was built in around 1899 and the building needs major repair or refurbishment with a backlog of maintenance of £381,040 not including extra funding required for the school to reach 21st-century standards.
It also said the outdoor areas of the school are not suitable for staff to deliver the Curriculum for Wales through outdoor learning and the building does not fully comply with the Equality Act 2010 as it is graded D for accessibility.
The report said there is very little housing development planned in the catchment area, which means demand for places will remain low.
It was inspected by Estyn in February 2017 when its performance was deemed to be adequate while its prospects for improvement were good.
The report adds that Tonyrefail Community School is an age three to 19 school with a 385 primary school-age pupil capacity and was part of a £44m investment in 2020, which it said “provided first-class education and sports facilities”.
It is also the school that provides secondary education for Tref-Y-Rhyg Primary’s catchment area and  is projected to have 7.5% (29) surplus places by 2028-29 with a planned capacity increase of 30 in the primary phase (to 415) set to further increase the number of available places.
The report said all Tref-Y-Rhyg Primary pupils could be accommodated by Tonyrefail Community School in September 2025. It adds there the schools are about 1.2 miles away from each other and there is a safe walking route for pupils. All pupils live within a 1.5-mile distance so none will be entitled to free home-to-school transport.
The council said there is an option for pupils to receive education in Welsh with Tref-Y-Rhyg Primary sitting in the wider catchment area of YGG Tonyrefail.
If the proposals go ahead no decisions have been made about the empty school site.
Councillor Dan Owen-Jones, councillor for Tonyrefail East, said the report doesn’t mention the developments they are facing saying that they’re expecting 1,560 homes in the area over the next four years and that the numbers at the school would reach up to 350 and that Tonyrefail Community School would reach up to 400.
He said what they need is a brand new school to cope with demand and asked for the chance to speak with the cabinet member and director of education.
Councillor Danny Grehan, also a councillor for Tonyrefail East, asked cabinet to reject the recommendation and said the school is at the heart of the community and that it has overcome challenges in the last few years.
Cllr Grehan said it is a “welcoming” and a “happy” school and he said closing it would have an “awful” and “disastrous” effect on the community.
“Money shouldn’t be at the forefront of your minds but the people, the community, the wider community,” he said.
He said people would have to walk at least half an hour with children to school and back home and that it’s not just the children who will suffer.
Cllr Grehan said the school was “the centre of the community” offering support for children and families.
Cabinet member for education Councillor Rhys Lewis said they have a statutory duty to review surplus places and that the birth rate has dropped and is dropping which all councils across Wales are grappling with.
He said the matters they are discussing are certainly not a comment on the quality of teaching at the school which is excellent and that the staff are dedicated to pupils’ wellbeing.
He said the rationale and recommendations are sound and that no decisions have been made yet.
The council’s cabinet on Monday, September 23, agreed to start a consultation on the proposal. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​