PARENTS opposed to schools’ catchment area reorganisation in Monmouthshire have said their communities could be ripped apart if the plans go ahead.

Under plans, arrangements for pupils attending one of the county’s four comprehensive schools are set be tweaked in September 2016.

But concerned parents from Portskewett are opposed to a change that could see children from the village and surrounding areas be served by Chepstow School, five miles away. Currently those pupils would attend Caldicot School, just over a mile away.

Anna George, whose children attend Archbishop Rowan Williams Primary School, said parents were concerned about how the council’s consultation had been carried out.

The council issued paper copies to schools in December but despite requesting further copies on January 14, she was still waiting for a response early this week.

She said she was concerned a long-standing association with Caldicot for people in Portskewett, Sudbrook, Black Rock and Leechpool would be damaged if children there go to school in Chepstow.

Mrs George said: “Many of the children take part in clubs that are based in Caldicot and so feel part of the Caldicot and wider community. At the heart of why we are all so passionate about the fact that this shouldn’t go ahead in our area is that we are doing this for our children, no matter how old they are at the moment.

“As a parent you always put your children first. We give up work for them, we change jobs for them, we move house for them, wait around for them after school clubs, all so that they can get the best education, do the after school clubs and be with their friends. At such a crucial age, having your friends around you is really important.”

But a council spokesman said the changes would “maintain important links between secondary schools and their feeder primary schools”.

He said the current catchment areas have not been reviewed since local government reorganisation in 1996 “and it is thought that they may have been in place for many years prior to this.”

The consultation will end on Friday and results will be shared with a councillors’ advisory panel on February 10 for consideration.

The spokesman continued: “Members will need to consider the results of the consultation. If any proposals are taken forward the decision will be through the political process.”

If they are passed, King Henry VIII School in Abergavenny would lose no areas but gain pupils from Penperlleni. Monmouth Comprehensive School would retain their current areas but also take students from Usk, Llangybi, Tredunnock and Llanhennock. Those students’ current catchment area is Caerleon Comprehensive School.

The plans also include catchments for the county’s Welsh schools, Ysgol Gymraeg Y Fenni in Abergavenny and Ysgol Gymraeg Y Ffin in Caldicot.