Rhondda Cynon Taf Council Considers Closing Two Primary Schools

Two primary schools in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) could be closed and pupils moved to new schools under council plans.
Tref-Y-Rhyg Primary School in Tonyrefail and Trallwng Infants School in Pontypridd could close, with pupils moving to Tonyrefail Community School and Coedpenmaen Primary School respectively.
The council said it is considering the move in response to falling pupil numbers and forecast surplus places at the schools, which it said will impact upon their financial viability and the experience of pupils.
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, being 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 a three-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 proposal to close Trallwng Infants’ School would see pupils transferring to the nearby Coedpenmaen Primary School, which is just over 400m away, by no later than September 2025.
The cabinet report said Trallwng Infants’ has a 105-pupil capacity and pupil numbers have significantly decreased, with just 50 in attendance in 2023-24 – down from 75 in 2019-20, with just 30 living in the school’s catchment area. Projections for 2028-29 suggest a further drop to 48 pupils.
The site does not fully comply with the Equality Act 2010 and has a total backlog of maintenance of £227,760 – not including the funding required to reach 21st Century Schools standards.
It was inspected by Estyn in July 2022 and did not require any follow-up. Trallwng drew up an action plan to demonstrate how it was going to address the recommendations set out.
Coedpenmaen Primary is a three-11 school that provides the catchment area for Trallwng Infants’ when pupils reach year three. It has capacity for 269 statutory school age pupils, with 242 attending in 2023-24; 106 of those (43%) live out of catchment.
Projections show this number decreasing to 222 pupils in 2028-29 with 47 (17.5%) surplus places.
Should the proposal go ahead, Monday’s cabinet report notes that – based
on live data – there would remain a surplus capacity at Coedpenmaen Primary for 2025-26, with all current Trallwng Infants’ pupils accommodated.
The backlog maintenance figure for Coedpenmaen is £122,842 and the site itself and the school building does not fully comply with the Equality Act 2010 but the council said it would invest in important improvements.
It was inspected by Estyn in May 2022, and it was the view of inspectors that the statutory category of special measures was necessary. The cabinet report said the school successfully implemented its action plan to address the recommendations and after monitoring visits in April 2024, Coedpenmaen  was judged to have made sufficient progress and was removed from the list of schools requiring special measures.
The report said there is approximately 0.2 miles between the schools and there is a safe walking route for pupils.
The council said there is an option for pupils to receive education in Welsh in both communities, with Tref-Y-Rhyg Primary sitting in the wider catchment area of YGG Tonyrefail and Trallwng Infants’ and Coedpenmaen Primary within the wider catchment area of YGG Awel Taf.
If the proposals go ahead, no decisions have been made about the empty school sites.
The proposals will go before the council’s cabinet on Monday, September 23, when it could agree to start a consultation on them. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

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