A PEMBROKESHIRE school at threat of closure as part of education reorganisation in the south of the county has now been saved after councillors backed a call from the deputy leader for it to remain open.

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 heard at the July 16 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council.

Cllr Miller said: “Following a thorough review, I have decided to recommend to council that it not proceed with the closure of Stepaside School. I believe the school is providing good educational outcomes for its local population and is sustainable in its current form.”

A lengthy supporting statement from Cllr Miller also said: “I assumed portfolio responsibility for Education on May 15. Since appointment I have reviewed in detail the substantive plans of the Directorate including those for school modernisation and reorganisation.

“To date I consider that the primary focus of our reorganisation work has been on addressing surplus places. While that focus absolutely aligns with Welsh Government guidance, measuring surplus places tells us simply how many empty classrooms we have.

“That’s an interesting estates and facilities metric but it tells us very little about the educational experience of the children inside those buildings. I accept that there is a size (pupil number) at which a small school becomes unviable and must shut. That’s not simply unviable from a financial perspective but also from the perspective of the education provided.”

It added: “It may also be that there are mitigations, for example shared leadership roles or formal federations, that can be explored to strengthen the sustainability of both schools.

“Equally, the planned temporary full decant of Tenby VC School [which needs a new roof] may utilise a significant proportion of the existing surplus places at Saundersfoot School. In those circumstances, I do not believe the available evidence currently demonstrates that closure of Stepaside School represents a necessary or proportionate response to the level of surplus places within the Tenby Cluster.”

At the meeting Cllr Miller stressed the Stepaside decision would not lead to a revisiting of the recently backed closures of Manorbier school or Ysgol Clydau.

While there were claims of “a massive U-turn” and a “purely political move” around Cllr Miller’s call, the latter of which he said he said was “completely outrageous,” members unanimously backed the call.

Cllr Miller said he accepted the process around Stepaside had “been imperfect,” but added: “I firmly believe this school has a viable future.”

Speaking after the meeting, Laura Burnett, Chair of Governors at Stepaside Community Primary School 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.
“The Governing Body continues to believe that the original proposal to close Stepaside School and transfer all pupils to Saundersfoot was ill-informed.  We remain concerned that the school capacity, projected pupil numbers and budgetary figures used to inform the proposal were outdated and did not provide a reliable basis for decision-making.

“In addition, we feel that the potential impact on the local community was not explored in sufficient depth, with limited engagement undertaken with those most affected.”

She added: “The appointment of new cabinet members provided a valuable opportunity for a fresh perspective. We are grateful to Cllr Paul Miller, along with the many county councillors, members of parliament and Senedd members who took the time to visit the school and see first-hand the high-quality education it provides, as well as the significant impact that its closure would have on pupils, families and the wider community.”
She went on to say: “We are delighted that Stepaside School will continue to serve the children and families of our catchment area for many years to come. As we look ahead to September, we look forward to welcoming new pupils into our thriving school community.”

Welsh professional footballer Liam Cullen, who plays for Swansea and the Welsh national team is a former pupil.

He said: “Alongside my brilliant education from all of the staff, they also facilitated my aims and dream of making it to where I am today being a footballer.

“Me and my family couldn’t have done it without the help of the school’s staff, allowing me to train and play most days whilst keeping on top of my education and giving me exactly what I needed to succeed both in school and out of school.”

THE FIRST ever nursing students have graduated from Aberystwyth University.

The students began their studies when the University’s Healthcare Education Centre first opened its doors in September 2022.

The £1.7 million centre located opposite Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth includes high-quality clinical practice rooms and was supported with a grant of £500,000 from the Welsh Government.

Among the almost 40 students who have graduated this year, some studied adult nursing and others mental health nursing. The degree courses have now expanded with 239 studying at the University this academic year.

Students studying for the degree have the opportunity to follow up to half of their course through the medium of Welsh.

A special reception was held after the graduation and students were addressed by key partners and academics.

Speaking after the ceremony, Amanda Jones, Head of Healthcare Education at Aberystwyth University said:

“It is so heartening to see our students at this wonderful moment in their lives – many congratulations to them all. It has been an honour to be part of history, teaching the first ever cohort of nursing students here in Aberystwyth. I wish them all every success for the future.”

Aberystwyth Vice-Chancellor Professor Jon Timmis added: “This is a very special day – I’m so delighted to see the nursing students graduate. As a university, we are extremely proud to train the next generation of nurses for the NHS and the healthcare sector. That is exactly the type of role we as an organisation should be undertaking and want to do even more. It’s at the heart of our agenda to change lives for the better, grow knowledge, build communities and strengthen Wales.”

Students from 10 Usk have combined creativity, teamwork and environmental awareness for their King’s Trust Sustainability Project

PUPILS at Milford Haven School have transformed discarded materials into an impressive dragon as part of a project promoting recycling and sustainability.

Students from 10 Usk wanted their work to leave a lasting impression beyond simply collecting litter, so they set out to educate others about the importance of reusing materials and reducing waste.

The dragon was created entirely from recycled items, while its dramatic “fire” was made using rubbish gathered by pupils during their litter-picking sessions.

Miss Crolla said she was extremely proud of the commitment, creativity and teamwork demonstrated by the group, adding that the pupils had exceeded all expectations.

She said the project showed what could be achieved when young people were passionate about making a positive difference to the environment.

Special thanks were also given to Miss George, whose creativity, support and expertise helped bring the pupils’ vision to life.

The school said the completed dragon demonstrated how, with a little imagination, yesterday’s rubbish could be transformed into tomorrow’s masterpiece.