SUPPORTERS of Ysgol Cilgerran’s Church in Wales school have protested at a Pembrokeshire County Council meeting against council plans to remove church status from the school.

Back in May, Pembrokeshire County Council voted to remove Voluntary Controlled (VC) status from the Welsh-medium rural school despite 97 per cent of the responses to a consultation having opposed a change which the church describes as ‘entirely unnecessary’.

The Church in Wales has objected formally to the proposal and has warned it will take legal action on the grounds of “public misrepresentation and unqualified legal assertions made by Pembrokeshire County Council officers,” and “discrimination against faith schooling”.

During Pembrokeshire County Council’s full council meeting of July 16, parents, teachers, and students travelled to County Hall, Haverfordwest to protest.

Their colourful protest signs, made by students, carried messages such as “You can’t fix what isn’t broken”, “Leave our VC status alone”, and “Don’t take away our identity for a few £££”.

One of the protesters, an ex-pupil and governor, Sarah Moore, has said: “I’m here today because I’m horrified that the council are talking about taking the church status away from our school. The church gave that land for the school over 180 years ago.

“97 per cent have voted against this and yet they’re still trying to do it. If we want our children to stay in a church school, the nearest one is Letterston. So where will these children have that good education that they are getting now?”

Kelly Davies, parent and governor, said: “We feel really strongly as parents, the pupils and the community that we’re not happy about them taking VC status away.

“We have really strong links with the church and the school and the community. It just seems that they’re taking this away from us permanently for no reason.”

The Church has said it has deep concern about what it sees as a pattern of the council’s recent actions regarding Church Schools.

In June, councillors voted to close Manorbier Church in Wales Voluntary Controlled School, which was damaged by a fire in 2022.

The Church says it is taking formal action in this case.

It has also expressed concerns about VC status being lost for Tenby Church in Wales VC school after councillors backed a consultation on penitential education changes in the Tenby area.

A spokesperson for the Church in Wales said: “The entirely unnecessary threat to the status of this much-loved community school has had an impact on children, families, and the wider community. We are not prepared to allow another thriving rural school to lose its treasured character.

“Ysgol Cilgerran has our full support, and we hope that Pembrokeshire County Council listens to the voices of the community it serves, and chooses not to remove VC status.”

A CLOSURE-THREATENED Pembrokeshire school, which has now been saved, should “never have been considered for closure,” a local councillor who battled to keep it open has said.

Kilgetty’s Stepaside CP School was being earmarked for closure by Pembrokeshire County Council, as part of proposals to establish a new 3-11 primary school on the Saundersfoot School site, discontinuing both Saundersfoot school and Stepaside school.

The Stepaside proposal was based on surplus places for all the schools in the proposals, with Stepaside having a surplus capacity of over 50 per cent, councillors had previously heard; figures that have since been much debated.

In March, a vote at a full meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council reaffirmed a decision of last December, that the Director for Education be authorised to commence statutory consultation to discontinue Stepaside and Saundersfoot and establish the new three-11 primary school.

Since then, Pembrokeshire’s deputy leader Cllr Paul Miller, who has recently taken on Cabinet member responsibility for education, made a call for the school to instead remain open, rescinding the previous decision to discontinue Saundersfoot and Stepaside schools, which was unanimously backed at the July 16 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council.

Local county councillors Alistair Cameron and Alec Cormack, who had both battled for the school to remain open, said they are delighted at the decision to rescind the previous backing of a public consultation on closing Stepaside School and merging it with Saundersfoot School on the existing Saundersfoot School Site.

Cllr Alistair Cameron said: “Stepaside School should never have been considered for closure. The number of pupils at the school have been stable since 2022 at between at between 110 and 115. We are looking at another good intake of pupils in September which shows just how popular this school is.

“This has been confirmed by the school inspectors, Estyn, who described it as a ‘Happy place where pupils feel safe and eager to learn’ and ‘a welcoming, calm and purposeful learning environment,’ where ‘pupils make good progress with their learning’.

“Thank you to Mr Jones, headteacher at Stepaside School, and all of his colleagues for their continued dedication and hard work for the children in their care.

“Thank you also to the Chair of Governors, Laura Burnett and all of the governors for their leadership as well as the parents and wider Kilgetty community for their support. The school staff can now concentrate on what they do best, which is to provide excellent education in a caring and nurturing environment.”

Cllr Alec Cormack welcomed the Cabinet decision saying adding “I am very pleased that the decision taken in council was unanimous.”

Speaking after the decision, Laura Burnett said: “The Governing Body of Stepaside Community Primary School are delighted to share the exciting news that the school will remain open for many years to come.

“This is a tremendous achievement for the community that is served by the school in Kilgetty.”

Motorists are being advised to allow extra time as essential gas network upgrades begin on Bush Road

TEMPORARY traffic lights will be introduced in Pembroke while engineers carry out work to upgrade underground gas pipes.

Wales & West Utilities will begin work in the Bush Hill area on Monday, July 20, with the scheme expected to continue until Friday, August 21.

Temporary traffic lights will operate on Bush Road between the junctions with Buttermilk Lane and Whitehall Avenue. The lights will be manually controlled to help keep traffic moving and reduce congestion.

The utility company said the work had been agreed with Pembrokeshire County Council and scheduled during the school holidays to minimise disruption.

Motorists are being advised to allow additional time for their journeys while the restrictions are in place.

Adam Smith, who is managing the project for Wales & West Utilities, said: “We have planned this section of work to coincide with the school holidays to minimise disruption to motorists and the local community.

“We understand our work can cause disruption, but it is essential to maintain a resilient gas network that households and businesses can rely on every day.

“While much of the gas network is out of sight, it plays a vital role in daily life, from heating homes to cooking meals, and we know how important it is that gas is there when people need it.”

Wales & West Utilities transports gas to more than 7.5 million people across Wales and the south west of England through a network of more than 35,000 kilometres of underground pipes.

Anyone who smells gas or suspects carbon monoxide should call the National Gas Emergency Service immediately on 0800 111 999.