Minister hears Trevethin case (From Free Press Series)

Minister hears Trevethin case

Campaigners fighting to save Trevethin school took their case to the National Assembly last week.

A group of 18 pupils and parents working to keep the school open met senior aides of education minister Jane Davidson to press their case.

The group handed in the results of a survey which showed 1,400 people back their campaign. They said they wanted to make sure the minister had all the information available before she made a final decision.

The school has been ear-marked for closure by Torfaen council because of falling pupil numbers.

The council plans to transfer pupils to Abersychan and West Mon schools in 2007 and 2008.

But the decision has been fiercely opposed with many local people believing the council should invest in the school.

Torfaen's AM Lynne Neagle helped organise last week's delegation to Cardiff Bay.

Ms Davidson will take the final decision on whether the school should close.

Trevethin Community Action Group chair Arthur Attwood said he believed campaigners had a strong case.

"We are confident we can stop the school from closing," he said."We don't think the council is sending all the consultation information to the minister.

"They told us they are only sending parts of it," he said.

"That's one of the reasons we wanted to go ourselves - to make sure all the information we collected gets to the minister. This isn't a petition, it's a consultation document with the opinions of 1400 people," said Mr Attwood.

"Out of all the people we asked, there were five or six who said they wanted to shut the school, the rest want it to stay open.

"If the decision goes against us then so be it, but all the minister should have all the information available to make a decision."

A Torfaen council spokesperson said: "All the views and comments received will be given to the minister.

The notice was published on February 23 and the Assembly's advice is that a decision will be taken approximately six months from that date."

An Assembly spokesperson said it would be "inappropriate" for Ms Davidson to comment on the matter given her role in the process. He said: "An official representing the minister accepted the petition."