MONMOUTH SMALL SCHOOL CLOSURES - UPDATE

A quick update about the announced (and announced may well be the key word here, not to mention announced to whom) closure of one of Monmouthshire's small schools - Llanover Primary School. School Governors have gone on record (in the South Wales Argus - which makes interesting reading) stating that they are unhappy with the nature of the consultation process, which was combined with offers of places at other schools, which made parents somewhat nervous about securing places at other schools, so they pulled their children out of Llanover Primary School, effectively undermining efforts to keep the school open. Hence, falling rolls make the school uneconomic and unsustainable, due to falling pupil numbers. Knowing the way that Monmouthshire plays the game, I am not surprised at this one bit and I suspect very similar scenarios have played out over the years with small school closures in Monmouthshire and beyond.