The new year will see some far-reaching announcements concerning primary education in the Rhuthun/Ruthin area. So, what will they be?
Rhuthun Town
The most important point be the intention to build two brand new primaries within the town. Obviously, it won't happen over night. Eventually we will see the relocation of both Ysgolion Penbarras and Stryd y Rhos/Rhos Street to Glasdir. Currently, these share the same site and some facilities between them.
Those who remember the planning process will recall that the council planned to move just one school. This was expected to be Penbarras. Cynics might say that the Welsh medium school would benefit from the new site and new facilities. Pragmatically, though, Penbarras would have been the best to vacate, leaving Rhos Street elbow room on the current joint site. Pragmatically? Because Rhos Street's catchment is to the north and east of the town and many of these pupils walk to school. Leaving Rhos Street where it is would be least disruptive. Penbarras already caters for a larger catchment, including the whole town and much of the surrounding hinterland.
Penbarras opened in 1982 (if I recall correctly) by budding off from Rhos Street. They share some facilities such as the dining area and playing field. Both are cramped and parents at both have campaigned throughout the 1980s, 1990s and beyond for improvements. Parents from opposing schools even buried the elitist hatchet to fight for improvements. Access in inadequate, as are some of the classroom facilities.
The new site is expected to be on land safeguarded for a new school at Glasdir. The modern schools will benefit from an open site and it will ease congestion on Mold Road and Rhos Street but the new site will be detached from the town centre and this will result in generated car journeys as parents no doubt run their offspring by car.
One unintended consequence might be the redistribution among English medium primary education in Rhuthun. If Rhos Street relocates to Glasdir, this will be within walking distance of the Borthyn catchment. Might that weaken Borthyn?
This will lead to speculation as to what will happen to the current site of the schools. My guess is that it will terminate as infill housing. This will probably be a relief to those surrounding the schools at the moment. There are those who overlook the site directly and others who suffer parked cars in residential areas during the beginning & end of the schoolday plus during extra-curricular activities.
Rhuthun Villages
The other proposals will be more controversial. They will also be the subject of consultation.
I do wonder about consultation in Education. Take Llanbedr Controlled.
Denbighshire wishes to close it. The Free Press has to date trumpeted the campaign to keep it open: just look at this week's emotive front page. The consultation exercise found that the community wanted the school to remain open (this in spite of Rhos Street actually being the school of choice for Llanbedr). What other result to the consultation might there be? Whatever happened to the views of the wider public who might benefit in terms of lower council tax as a result of the closure? They're not directly affected so probably won't comment, even though the closure's probably in the wider public interest. The issue is currently with the respective government minister. But remember that Llanbedr has only 28 pupils (yes, 28). Hardly viable and its school budget per pupil is therefore double that of a typical Rhuthun area primary.
Compare this to its heyday 20 years ago, when parents would flock from far & wide to get their offspring to the school. For some, it was preferential to much more local Welsh medium education. Nowadays, those who prefer a rural primary education choose Gellifor.
Back to the plans. In the new year, the LEA will therefore announce consultation regarding the:
Ysgol Borthyn
The longstanding head of Ysgol Borthyn retired in July this year. He'd been with the school since his hair was dark but other than that he altered little. He served the school for 28 years, 26 as head.
Borthyn doesn't get the recognition it deserves. Perhaps that's because some, especially the Penbarras bourgeoisie, see the school as either on the wrong side of the tracks or just simply as inferior (even though when last inspected Rhos Street was ahead of them all).
Yet, Borthyn is growing in popularity. In 2014, Borthyn's Estyn inspection put it a "Adequate", a pejorative term if ever there was one. It means the school's strengths outweigh its weaknesses. Remember that the context is a quarter of Borthyn's intake currently have free school meals and a third have some form of additional learning needs, both of which are significantly high and are indicators of overall attainment. At the time of the inspection, nearly all the teaching staff were in their first or second year of teaching. This is a weakness when compared to experienced staff but it does come with two distinct advantages:
*—who was Emlyn and where is his stone?
Rhuthun Town
The most important point be the intention to build two brand new primaries within the town. Obviously, it won't happen over night. Eventually we will see the relocation of both Ysgolion Penbarras and Stryd y Rhos/Rhos Street to Glasdir. Currently, these share the same site and some facilities between them.
Penbarras opened in 1982 (if I recall correctly) by budding off from Rhos Street. They share some facilities such as the dining area and playing field. Both are cramped and parents at both have campaigned throughout the 1980s, 1990s and beyond for improvements. Parents from opposing schools even buried the elitist hatchet to fight for improvements. Access in inadequate, as are some of the classroom facilities.
The new site is expected to be on land safeguarded for a new school at Glasdir. The modern schools will benefit from an open site and it will ease congestion on Mold Road and Rhos Street but the new site will be detached from the town centre and this will result in generated car journeys as parents no doubt run their offspring by car.
One unintended consequence might be the redistribution among English medium primary education in Rhuthun. If Rhos Street relocates to Glasdir, this will be within walking distance of the Borthyn catchment. Might that weaken Borthyn?
This will lead to speculation as to what will happen to the current site of the schools. My guess is that it will terminate as infill housing. This will probably be a relief to those surrounding the schools at the moment. There are those who overlook the site directly and others who suffer parked cars in residential areas during the beginning & end of the schoolday plus during extra-curricular activities.
Rhuthun Villages
The other proposals will be more controversial. They will also be the subject of consultation.
I do wonder about consultation in Education. Take Llanbedr Controlled.
Denbighshire wishes to close it. The Free Press has to date trumpeted the campaign to keep it open: just look at this week's emotive front page. The consultation exercise found that the community wanted the school to remain open (this in spite of Rhos Street actually being the school of choice for Llanbedr). What other result to the consultation might there be? Whatever happened to the views of the wider public who might benefit in terms of lower council tax as a result of the closure? They're not directly affected so probably won't comment, even though the closure's probably in the wider public interest. The issue is currently with the respective government minister. But remember that Llanbedr has only 28 pupils (yes, 28). Hardly viable and its school budget per pupil is therefore double that of a typical Rhuthun area primary.
Compare this to its heyday 20 years ago, when parents would flock from far & wide to get their offspring to the school. For some, it was preferential to much more local Welsh medium education. Nowadays, those who prefer a rural primary education choose Gellifor.
Back to the plans. In the new year, the LEA will therefore announce consultation regarding the:
- Closure of Ysgol Rhewl. Numbers are falling (they now stand at just over 50) and the building's in poor condition. Alternatives will be Rhos Street and Penbarras (and probably Borthyn, too)
- Amalgamation of Ysgolion Llanfair DC a Phentrecleyn. This is the most controversial. Both teach in Welsh but Pentrecelyn is categorised Welsh medium, whereas Llanfair DC is dual stream (like Brynhyfryd). Expect Pentrecelyn's parents to play the Welsh card. The resukt, though, will be a new build somewhere. Pentrecelyn is very detached from its catchment. It's also a very small school (42) that has been through trying times. Llanfair on the other hand is over double (97) and is hemmed in both within its own grounds but also by the A525 which, though subject to a 30 mph, is one that is widely ignored by motorists
- New build for the merged school now called Ysgol Gareg Emlyn* (former Ysgolion Clocaenog a Chyffylliog)
Ysgol Borthyn
The longstanding head of Ysgol Borthyn retired in July this year. He'd been with the school since his hair was dark but other than that he altered little. He served the school for 28 years, 26 as head.
Borthyn doesn't get the recognition it deserves. Perhaps that's because some, especially the Penbarras bourgeoisie, see the school as either on the wrong side of the tracks or just simply as inferior (even though when last inspected Rhos Street was ahead of them all).
Yet, Borthyn is growing in popularity. In 2014, Borthyn's Estyn inspection put it a "Adequate", a pejorative term if ever there was one. It means the school's strengths outweigh its weaknesses. Remember that the context is a quarter of Borthyn's intake currently have free school meals and a third have some form of additional learning needs, both of which are significantly high and are indicators of overall attainment. At the time of the inspection, nearly all the teaching staff were in their first or second year of teaching. This is a weakness when compared to experienced staff but it does come with two distinct advantages:
- The vigour of young teachers with up-to-date training and new ideas and
- The prospects of staff growing into their jobs which improves prospects for the future.
*—who was Emlyn and where is his stone?
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Education