THE removal of educational choice are among the main fears of students and governors from a secondary school, which could be set to lose its sixth form.

Proposals were approved by Torfaen council’s cabinet for a £20million 1,000 place college in Cwmbran, resulting in the closure of sixth forms at Croesyceiliog School, St Alban’s RC High School and Cwmbran High School.

The school sixth forms are recommended for closure before September 2019, when the centre, 21st Century Schools programme-funded and operated by Coleg Gwent, should be completed.

Two students at Croesyceiliog School have started petitions, stating their opposition to the closures.

Year 10 student Cerys Gordon, 14, of Llanyrafon, said: “I am concerned that the proposals will interrupt the education of people in my year group. If it does go ahead, we will spend one year here and one year at college.

“We are used to the teachers and the environment. It will be completely new at the college. As students, we want to be where we feel most comfortable.”

Niamh O’Dobhain, 17, of Croesyceiliog, created the other petition, and originally attended Crosskeys college before switching to Croesyceiliog’s sixth form.

“My sisters went to the sixth form and I feel it is a very important option that we should have available to us,” Niamh said.

“I wanted to go to Crosskeys at first and I kept the sixth form as a back-up option.

“For me, it was a better option to have the choice. I don’t think I would be as happy in college as I am at sixth form. The plan leaves us with no alternative.”

Other students from both year 10 and the sixth form share the concerns of their teenage peers.

Kate Angove, 14, a year 10 student from Croesyceiliog, said: “We are hoping that we could stay here for our A-levels but it will be worse for year nine as they will be the first year of going to the college.

“We’ve been at this school since we were 11. We want to finish that with the teachers we started with.”

Josh Harrison, 16, of Pontnewydd, added: “Having a college that is part of a campus set-up, some students won’t be able study some of those at a location so will need to travel.”

Harri Seymour, 16, of Croesyceiliog, praised the level of teaching and the support surrounding the sixth form.

“The level of teaching provided at the school is second-to-none. The pastoral care and support is important as you build up a rapport with the teachers lower down in the school. When you get to the sixth form, they are aware of your needs,” he said.

Katie Thompsett, 17, of Llanfrechfa, added: “Importantly, we need to be able to do the subjects that we want to in order to reach the next stage. I’m not convinced that this option is available.

“It’s not fair on the students in the lower school. Not all of them will want to move and some don’t have the option to travel.”

Joe Lewis, 16, of Llantarnam, feels that the current set-up works on a number of levels and raised his concerns about bigger class sizes for some students.

“Students with social anxieties or conditions along those lines may not feel as comfortable in an environment with more people. Bigger classes may see some students left behind,” he said.

“They may suffer in silence as I see sixth form as an intermediate between school and university. The situation we have at the moment is, in my view, the best that we are going to get.”

Angharad Jones, 17, of Griffithstown added that there could be issues relating to travel with the proposed new site.

“The sixth form is all operating from one base. Having the college gets rid of that,” she said.

“Travelling to the school from Griffithstown, it can be busy at times. This could lead to more traffic in the centre of town.”

The views of the students were shared by the school’s governors and the head of sixth form.

Phil Davies, the vice-chair of governors, said the school’s grades, particularly in the sixth form were impressive and urged the minister to review the case.

“We believe that by taking away the sixth form, you remove parental choice, which we think Torfaen could have kept.

“We think that the budgetary considerations have not been properly thought out and worked through.

“We do not believe that enough evidence exists in relation to academic standards being, if not maintained, improved in a sixth form college.

“We are very concerned that should this college be established, we will lose senior staff from the school.

“The governors have a mandate from the parents and from the student body to oppose such a change and we maintain that this is a flawed policy of taking sixth forms out of schools, which is being reversed by other Welsh local authorities.

“We think that it puts our residents at a major disadvantage compared to other authorities on our boundaries, for example Newport and Monmouthshire," said Mr Davies, who added that plans to re-develop the school site are not part of the same proposal and are not affected by the decision on the sixth forms.

“The academic standards of this school have always been high. They have in recent years in Torfaen but far and away the best academic standards.

“By taking the sixth form out of the school and losing the ethos of the sixth form, the pressure that puts on the lower school to perform and to get into a sixth form, it is a concern that standards will inevitably fall.

“We are urging the minister, as we feel it will go to that level, to take more than a cursory look at all aspects of Torfaen’s plans, before making a final decision,” he said.

With one child set to be affected by the plans, parent governor Alison Cullen is already looking at alternative options should the closure go-ahead.

“From the point of view of a parent, there are a number of issues at hand. We want the education right-through from 11 to 18 and in once place where possible,” said Mrs Cullen.

“It is the ability to choose where your child is educated and sits their exams. With the proposed sixth form, there is no choice.

“I am very anxious for my son. While I am working hard to support both my children and avoid this change, I am considering my alternatives as a parent.

“My personal choice is not a college for my son.

“My son, who is 16 now, I don’t think would have coped educationally with a change and transition.

“I could originally see the idea behind a central sixth form – economies of scale and more subject choice for example.

“That appears to not be the case and the Cwmbran college will be one of the Coleg Gwent group. Not all the courses will be on offer so they will still need to travel.

“Our fear is that in five years’ time, there could be no A-levels running out of Cwmbran college. It’s happened in Pontypool before," said the parent governor.

Sian Lewis, the school’s head of sixth form added that she is aware of other Welsh local authorities reversing their decisions on post-16 provision.

“From a sixth form point of view, we have excellent exam results. Ninety-nine per cent of our students in the sixth form go onto university in spite of their background, looking at Torfaen from a demographic and social perspective.

“The students who come to us in the sixth form, 99 per cent of them are going to universities – Oxford, medical schools and Russell Group universities.

“Those who don’t go – they often do apprenticeships but they leave with a destination. We mentor all those students from year seven right through the school. The staff know them and work with their background to allow them to succeed.

“Part of this is linked to the plans for the new school. We can be a totally inclusive school with Crownbridge. We can accommodate those students into the sixth form. There could be certain subjects run and these could be operated all from the same site.

“We also work in collaboration with CHS to make sure that we a wide range of A-levels

“We also feel it is more cost effective to keep the sixth form than build a new one.

“In Rhondda Cynon Taf for example, it is a fact that they are going back to sixth forms within two years. Similar re-introductions are taking place in England also.

“Subjects will be spread across the cluster of colleges. Here they can do all their subjects in one place,” said Mrs Lewis.

A Torfaen CBC spokesman said the main drives behind the £20-million project include the need to improve retention rates and learner outcomes, the need to transform post-16 education in line with the Welsh Government’s vision and the need for a more “efficient and sustainable delivery model”.

He added that a “far wider range and quality of academic courses will be available” and that free transport options and grants are available for some students based on their parent’s’ income and their address.

“Financially, in recent years, the LA has experienced grant funding reductions and these have presented a serious challenge to schools to maintain provision,” he added.

“The financial economies and efficiencies gained through bringing provision into a single setting will remove unnecessary duplication and spend associated with small class sizes.”

“The new model of delivery will cost just as much to run because the entirety of the grant will continue to support delivery.”

“However, the proposal optimises the use of that money, which is better for learners.”

Torfaen CBC confirm they are investigating necessary highways improvements for the proposed site.

A decision on the future of the sixth form in Torfaen is due on Tuesday, March 14.