THE EARLY stages of what could lead to the potential closure of Pembrokeshire schools including fire-ravaged Manorbier school has been backed by councillors.

At the May meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, members received a report of the School Modernisation Working Group.

A report for members recommended a series of proposals including the Director of Education be authorised to commence statutory consultation with the St David’s Diocese on proposals to discontinue Manorbier Church in Wales Voluntary Controlled School and Cilgerran Church in Wales Voluntary Controlled School, establishing the latter as a 3-11 Community School.

It also recommended the Director of Education be authorised to commence statutory consultation on a proposal to discontinue Ysgol Clydau, along with a review of English and Welsh medium, primary and secondary provision in the Tenby cluster.

Manorbier Church in Wales VC School and its adjoining schoolhouse was severely damaged by a fire on October 11, 2022, which broke out in the school roof space.

Pupils and staff were successfully evacuated with no injuries, and a ‘school from school’ was set up in Jameston Village Hall, after a brief period of sanctuary at the nearby Buttyland caravan site.

Manorbier has seen “a 59.8 per cent decline in the school’s pupil population during the period 2015-2025, with no indication that this will be significantly reversed during the next 5-6 years,” the report said, adding: “This decline cannot be attributed wholly to the fire which occurred in October 2022, with a 30.7 per cent decline from 2015 to 2022.”

It added: “The school’s capacity is 86 but there has been an increasing level of surplus places at the school, reaching 74.4 per cent in 2025.  The school has been in a position of having significant surplus places (>25 per cent) for at least seven years.”

It said that most children living in the Manorbier school catchment attend other schools in the area, in 2024 only 15 children (18.5 per cent) living in the school’s catchment attended Manorbier school.

The capital cost of rebuilding Manorbier VC School is estimated to be £2.6 million.

On Ysgol Clydau, the report said there has been a 34 per cent decline in the school’s pupil population during the period 2015-2025, with no indication that this will be significantly reversed during the next five-six years.

Cilgerran Church in Wales VC School has seen a nine per cent decline in the school’s pupil population during the period 2015-2025.

Leader Cllr Jon Harvey said, in the case of Manorbier, he wasn’t yet convinced the authority “was in full possession of the relevant data to make a decision,” reading out a letter from Sam Kurtz MS about the fears of potential closure.

Independent group leader Cllr Huw Murphy, who later called for a deferral of any decision on Manorbier, saying: “Two-and-a-half years after the fire we at Pembrokeshire County Council haven’t covered ourselves in glory about this school and its catastrophic fire; numbers have reduced but there has to be a correlation.

“We all wanted Manorbier to be rebuilt, and the majority do now; we owe Manorbier a chance, we’re being asked to make a decision on incomplete information.”

Cllr Rhys Jordan, a neighbouring councillor to Manorbier, said the school had been “caught in a bit of a political football on both sides,” adding: “When that school burned down those children were placed in a safe place that’s become a long-term fix.

“We need to get these young people into a proper educational environment; I can’t support Cllr Murphy’s amendment, it would be just kicking this down the road. I urge members to make a difficult decision today and support the recommendations.”

Local member for Manorbier Cllr Phil Kidney in an impassioned plea, said the teachers and pupils at the school had been though a “horrendous” time with Covid and the later fire.

“Of course, the figures went down; they lost a big catchment to Greenhill [Tenby] and through Covid and the fire. Figures are going up but there’s the uncertainty of the last two-and-a-half years.”

He added: “50 per cent of the pupils have got ALN needs, a lot of them come out of catchment simply due to the nurturing; there’s a lot of poverty in Manorbier, a lot of the children will struggle in classes of big sizes, that’s why they go to Manorbier.

“It shouldn’t all be about money; we’re looking at the bottom line all the time, what they’ve been through is horrendous. I can’t speak highly enough about the level of teaching; this is the sword of Damocles hanging over them, we’re not trying to give people false hope, we’re only trying to make the right decision, with all the information.

“At the moment I would say we haven’t got all the information there; all we’re asking from the council is give us the benefit of the doubt and make the decision with all the information. Waiting another couple of months is well worth it, the staff, pupils and parents of Manorbier school all deserve it.”

A plea on behalf of Ysgol Clyddau was launched by Cllr Iwan Ward, local member, who said it was “the heart of our society not just a school, it’s family, a community, an anchor for children who deserve the opportunity to grow,” adding closure was “a disaster for the future of education locally,” and was “not fair and was not moral”.

Cllr Murphy’s amendment was defeated by 35 votes to 14, with one abstention, the original recommendation later passing by 44 to three, again with one abstention.