A PETITION plea to save a Pembrokeshire village school under threat of potential closure will be heard at full council.

At the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, a call for a breathing space before any decision is made on Stepaside school, Kilgetty, part of a wide-ranging range of education changes mooted in the south of the county, was defeated.

At that meeting, a recommendation before members asked that the Director of Education be authorised to undertake a public consultation on establishing a new 3-19 school, on a split site initially, but as part of a future investment to rebuild/extend Tenby’s Ysgol Greenhill site, or potentially on a new site was backed.

As part of that it also recommended Tenby Church in Wales Voluntary Controlled School and Ysgol Greenhill are discontinued.

A second part of the series of recommendations was a call to establish a new 3-11 primary school on the Saundersfoot School site, discontinuing Saundersfoot School and Stepaside school.

A report for members said there were many surplus places for all the schools in the proposals, with Stepaside having a surplus capacity of over 50 per cent.

The Tenby area proposals were backed, with amendments, but a call for a deferral on the second part concerning Stepaside was made by local member Cllr Alistair Cameron.

Cllr Cameron’s amendment call for a deferral was defeated by 37 votes to 12, the original proposal was later passed by 42 votes to seven, with the intention public consultations would be held next year.

Since then, an e-petition on the council’s own website, started by Angela Robinson, calls upon Pembrokeshire County Council “to Save Stepaside School and work with local communities to look at alternative solutions”.

“Stepaside School in Kilgetty is the heart of our community. It represents a high-performing local education asset that delivers significant public value. Any proposal to close it must be assessed not only in terms of short-term financial pressures, but against wider statutory duties, long-term social impact, and the strategic use of public funds that invests in our children best interest.”

The lengthy petition adds: “The rationale for closure appears primarily financial, yet any credible public spending decision must be based on a holistic assessment of costs, benefits, risks, and outcomes. This includes impacts on carers, children with additional learning needs, families from global majority backgrounds, and those reliant on local support networks.”

The e-Petition, which has attracted 582 signatures to date, runs to February 17.

If a petition gets 500 signatures or more, the creator will have an opportunity to debate it at a future full council meeting.

At the December meeting petition pleas to save Manorbier School and Ysgol Clydau, also at threat of potential closure, were heard; members noting those petitions.

Council says action plan is underway, with strengths identified alongside areas for improvement

MILFORD HAVEN SCHOOL will work with Pembrokeshire County Council to address recommendations made in a recent Estyn inspection, the authority has said.

The council said it accepted the report in full and is committed to driving improvements “at pace” to ensure better outcomes for pupils.

Council officers have welcomed visits from Estyn to support work on a draft post-inspection action plan, with work on that plan “well underway,” according to the statement. The authority said its teams are working with the school to ensure the necessary support is in place.

The council added it was confident improvements can be delivered effectively and said it looks forward to demonstrating progress during Estyn monitoring visits.

It said the work will include providing both support and appropriate challenge to the school’s leadership team and governing body, to ensure they have the right capacity and backing in place, while keeping a clear focus on sustained improvement in pupils’ outcomes.

Cabinet Member for Education and the Welsh Language, Cllr Guy Woodham, said: “Our priority is ensuring that all learners at the school have access to high quality teaching and learning and maintaining the wellbeing of every learner.”

Despite the challenges highlighted in the inspection, the council said Estyn also recognised strengths at Milford Haven School, including its caring and inclusive community, a broad and balanced curriculum, digital and wider skills opportunities across the curriculum, and the promotion of positive behaviour by school leaders.

The council said these strengths provide a platform for improvement and reflect the commitment of both the school and the local authority to support learners’ future success.

Parents, carers and the wider community will be kept informed through regular updates and engagement events, the council said.

Further details of the post-inspection action plan will be published on the Milford Haven School website once it has been approved by Estyn.

POST-16 sector invited to respond to evidence paper as rising costs, skills needs and participation gaps come under scrutiny

UNIVERSITIES, colleges, schools, learners and businesses across Wales are being urged to share their views on the future of post-16 education and research.

The call was issued by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Vikki Howells, following the publication of a Welsh Government evidence paper titled The Future of Tertiary Education in Wales.

The document sets out a range of challenges facing further and higher education and seeks responses to help build an evidence base that will inform future policy.

Among the issues highlighted are participation gaps, rising costs for both learners and institutions, demographic change, competition between education providers, and the need to better align skills provision and research with the needs of the Welsh economy.

Announcing the call for evidence, Vikki Howells said the system faced pressures that could not be tackled by government alone.

“The challenges facing our post-16 education system are too complex for us to solve alone,” she said. “Universities, colleges, schools, employers and learners hold vital insights about what is working, what is not, and what is possible.”

She said reforms had already been delivered, including the establishment of Medr and the maintenance of the Welsh Government’s approach to student support, but warned there were further challenges that needed to be addressed.

“This call for evidence is our opportunity to build on our progress, and your expertise will shape Wales’s future,” she said. “This is your opportunity to influence the future direction for your institution, your staff, your learners and your communities.”

The minister said she would be visiting Bangor University and Coleg Meirion Dwyfor this week to meet staff and students and hear their views on the pressures facing the sector.

“These conversations will build on my ongoing dialogue with the sector, and will be an essential part of this work,” she said.

The call for evidence is open from January to March 2026.