A TROUBLED school which has no pupils on its roll could be officially closed by Monmouthshire council next year.

Education chiefs want to run a consultation before shutting Llanfair Kilgeddin Church in Wales Primary School.

Regulators Estyn graded the school red – the lowest category – and it was placed in special measures in December. They found the school had a poor record of delivering sustained improvement and noted a lack of stable leadership.

In the spring it had 29 pupils, aged between four and 11, before they were all moved to Usk Primary School until the end of the school year. They are now being educated at a variety of schools.

The school’s headteacher resigned a day before the 2014/15 school year was due to start and the council drafted in another school’s headteacher to temporarily work at theirs and Llanfair Kilgeddin.

But that arrangement collapsed in March and the children were told of the move to Usk days before they were expected to transfer there.

Parents told the Argus when the news emerged that they were worried the school was being closed “by the back door” and before the announcement was made there had been “no communication” with the authority.

Monmouthshire council’s cabinet will hear of the proposal at a meeting tomorrow (Wed) and a drop-in session for parents to discuss the proposal will be held at the school on November 9.

The authority has pencilled in March 24 next year as its possible closure date if everything goes to plan.

Monmouthshire council's consultation document says the school’s buildings were built in 1870 and are in a poor state of repair.

They estimate they would need to pay £130,000 to complete all repairs on the its four buildings.

The school’s chairman of governors Will McLean said: “The last academic year was exceptionally challenging for the Llanfair Kilgeddin School and its community of students, staff and parents. Throughout the year the governors worked with partner schools, the Education Attainment Service (EAS), the Diocese and of course Monmouthshire County Council to put the school onto a sustainable long term footing.

“However, despite everybody’s best efforts, during the summer term we took the difficult decision to ask the Local Authority to begin this process of consultation about the future of the school. We believed that clarity for all of those involved was crucial and this was the most effective means of achieving this.”

When the Welsh Government carried out condition checks on school buildings in 2010, it found major deterioration at the site.