Local village school are crucial to the future of Rural Wales. CPRW in partnership with other organisations are therefore launching a campaign to save them. This is why.

Small schools across Wales face a critical year as Local Authorities review the way they provide primary education. More than half of Wales’ rural primary schools have 90 pupils or less, and are therefore categorised by the Audit Commission as “small”. Reorganisation and rationalisation means they all face the possibility of closure.

The financial benefits of such reorganisation has been highlighted by many cash strapped Authorities and politicians and certain professionals have added weight to this argument by arguing that small schools do not give the best education because they have fewer teachers, poorer buildings and small pupil peer groups.

Why are small schools important?

Contrary to certain views, many believe the quality of teaching is better in small schools because leadership is stronger and the head teacher is directly involved in not just planning and monitoring but also hands on teaching. Pupils in ten two-teacher schools often achieve the same standards if not higher standards than their larger counterparts.

Small, also creates a rich sense of teamwork, while closeness to home and community enables staff, pupils and local people to all benefit. The school is indeed the focus of village life and the one public service left to village voters paying high rates is the village. Ceredigion has the most small schools in Wales but consistently some of the best ‘A’ level results.

Successive Governments have condemned the cost of the growing number of empty places in schools. In reality however the Audit Commission identified that the bulk of this problem was in urban areas. Despite this it is the small schools which are being made the scapegoats and are closing and the pupils bussed off expensively for ever and a day. Ultimately it is rural communities and rural life which is suffering,.

The current situation

Devolution of education policy to the Welsh Assembly Government has resulted in a starkly diverging policy on small and rural schools in Wales. The policies of the Welsh Assembly Government include:

• Targets for reducing the surplus capacity in schools; and
• A promise to provide “adequate school buildings for all by 2010.”

These policies are inevitably defining a road to rationalisation and closure of small schools with the consequent and not surprisingly intense public reaction. The most recent instance is Carmarthenshire County Council’s announcement of a £100 million re-organisation of schools (October 2004) and the possible closure of 40 of the county’s smallest schools. Many of the smallest schools in rural Wales are in areas where the language is most under threat.

In Pembrokeshire, Denbighshire, and Monmouthshire small schools are increasingly suffering similar fates. The efforts of the parents of the 50-pupil primary school at Hermon, North Pembrokeshire saw their campaign to save the school reach two high court hearings in London during 2004. The local authority insisted that the Welsh Assembly be drawn into the court case and during the final judicial review in July 2004, the limited resources available to the parents saw an unsuccessful bid to save the school from closure. The parents argued that the School Closure Policy in Wales was unfair to small rural communities who had to fall in line with the Local Education Authorities responsibilities to fall in line with the Education minister in Cardiff Bay wishes. Powys has joined the ‘reorganise and rationalise’ bandwagon and schools performing well such as Llandinam, are now threatened.

The financial argument

It all comes down to money! But the higher unit costs of small schools represent wise long-term investment in an individual as well as society’s well-being. In the small school the package is complete, natural and wholesome.

If small schools are good for children, with high standards of behaviour and excellent attitudes to learning and to each other, why is Wales disowning this? Is the cost of social distress and disaffection in young people, only an urban problem?

The next two years could see an enormously damaging swathe cut through the rich fabric of rural Wales. Once schools are lost, there are inevitable effects on communities, individuals and the identity of Welsh rural places. Those who care about quality of education and those who care about rural Wales can win this argument but it will need a very determined effort both to defend each individual school and carry the more truthful arguments forward. A well-co-ordinated campaigning thrust can turn the current tide threatening a momentum not far short of social disaster.

Having failed in their attempt to save their village school the Parents of Hermon primary school have set up a national small school fund to attract individuals from across Wales to work together to highlight the crucial need to retain small rural school. For just £1 a week membership, is rising towards the initial target of 500 members. Importantly the fund hopes to generate £14,000 for lobbying and co-ordinating the challenge to prevent the closure of small schools and enable a review of the current small schools closure policy in Wales.

To find out more about the campaign and how to become a member visit the national small schools website at www.ysgolhermon.org.uk

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