Super college decision lies with Welsh Government after cabinet approves plans

Sixth forms at Croesyceiliog School, Cwmbran High School and Pontypool’s St Alban’s RC are planned for closure to make way for a £20 million 1,000-place college - operated by Coleg Gwent in Cwmbran.

Today, Torfaen council’s cabinet officially approved the plan, with a final decision from the Welsh government now expected in April or May.

The council’s head of education services, Dermot McChrystal, said that the pass rate in Torfaen sixth forms – 99.6 per cent A* to G – was the same result as achieved at the Ebbw Vale Learning Zone in 2015, the same model proposed for the Cwmbran site.

Discussing staffing, Mr McChrystal added: “There’s been some anxiety about how that change will be managed or what it will look like for individual teachers.

“There’s clearly a risk that there will be some loss of staff and we’ve known that from the beginning.

“We are not at a point where we can look at what the scale of that is likely to look like because we need to do the curriculum planning with our schools in Torfaen.

“In terms of the impact on Pontypool, we suspect there will be an impact on the economy. It is really very difficult to quantify what that impact will be.

“But clearly, the overall benefit brought by the scheme we think will outweigh any disadvantage brought by that impact on local traders at lunchtime during the week.”

The leader of Torfaen council, councillor Anthony Hunt, said that the project - to be part-funded by the Welsh Government’s 21st Century Schools programme - would provide a state-of-the-art facility for post-16 students.

“With a single post-16 centre, we can have both a state-of-the-art facility for young people and a wider breadth of provision potentially in one place,” he said.

“It’s not an option for us to have a post-16 centre and sixth forms running simultaneously. In my view that would just guarantee mutual unviability.”

Cllr Hunt, and the executive member for education, cllr David Yeowell, both said the proposals to close the sixth forms was no indication of the presnet level of teaching in Torfaen.

“These proposals are not a negative reflection of any of the work that is done in any of our existing sixth forms,” said the leader.

“I think that’s important to say because I know how hard our teachers and staff work for post-16 students in the borough.

“Nothing in these proposals should be seen as a criticism.

“I understand that in the times we live in, there is often scepticism about change and consequent attachment to the status quo. But for me, the status quo just isn’t acceptable here.

“The unequal situation across Torfaen has gone on for too long and it can’t be allowed to continue, with some schools having sixth forms and others not.”