Oakdale and Pontllanfraith comprehensive schools are set to close, Caerphilly County Borough Council has announced.
Under the proposals, the schools would cease to operate with pupils from the area going either to a new school or Blackwood Comprehensive following a review of catchment areas.
The proposal will help reduce the amount of surplus places in the area from 22.1% to 16.9%.
Cllr Rhianon Passmore, Cabinet Member for Education said: “This is very exciting news for the future of education in the area. If the plans are agreed, pupils will be able to enjoy top class educational facilities in a modern, fit for purpose building.
“I’m sure local parents and the wider community will welcome the news and recognise the exciting opportunity this presents for pupils now and in the future.
“We obviously need to follow a thorough process in order to progress these plans and full consultation will be a key element going forward.”
The council has said the closures are part of the first phase of looking at secondary school provision in Caerphilly County Borough.
Schools in the Mid and Upper Rhymney Valley will also be looked at in due course.
The ‘Islwyn West’ proposal will initially be considered by a meeting of full council on July 23.
What planet are these councillors on???
Oakdale is a fantastic school!
Welcome? Clearly the C.M. for Education is either deluded or simply doesn't get out much.
as martyn Parfitt on facebook said:
"Oakdale is the flagship school of the borough, best performing school last two years, top marks, top grades, Only grade 1 school in the borough. Are Caerphilly council totally crazy or is this about labour councillors saving their own local schools at Oakdale's expense."
The local miners paid for the institute that was given to st fagans and the hospital was sold for private housing instead of them given back to be used by the community and families who paid for them. Now they want to shut the school???
They wouldn't do this to bargoed or caerphilly.
Have they really thought this through?? The catchment area would be huge for the new school. The pupil numbers large. My son is autistic and I would worry that a so called super school would just swallow him up! At the moment he would be in walking distance of two out of the 3 schools. But to relocate the new school would mean public transport for the pupils daily!
If this report is correct and Caerphilly has decided to close schools, parents, future parents and pupils should be given the full facts long before such decisions are made.
If we read the headline correctly, we are told that the council has already made its mind and the closures are set in stone. Only by reading the article can we see this is a proposal only. As a parent that has spent a considerable amount of time considering the options of local schools for my child to attend, I do not welcome the news that our choice is then threatened, especially at such a critical time of our child's educational requirements. I know staff knew nothing of these proposals and hope that the local authority pay attention to those who are affected with such news.
This would be a poor step by Caerphilly Council as both schools have done and continue to provide a good standard of education for our children's future.
Once again the Councillors are in it for themselves, my daughter lives in cwmfelinfach and there is no way she is going to travel all the way to Blackwood Comp, I went to Blackwood Comp and there is no way it can hold that many school children….
According to the C.C.B.C. website this proposal would see a reduction of 5.2% in surplus places. It would still leave a surplus of 16.9%
South Wales Argus tells us that Oakdale actually has the lowest number of surplus spaces at 109. Pontllanfraith has 509 and for Blackwood there is no actual figure merely a prediction of 345 by 2022.
No mention of where the new site would be located, no figures to indicate an overwhelming case in terms of value for money.
As Jan points out, Oakdale is the only grade 1 school in the entire borough and with the lowest number of surplus spaces clearly in demand. Going on the figures available, the total surplus stands at 963. five point two percent of which would be 50 actual spaces reduced by these proposals. It seems extreme to sacrifice the golden goose in terms of education and close what is clearly a popular school for a total of fifty spaces in the catchment area.
Why can't ccbc leave well alone? It makes me so angry that they mess around with pupils education and parental choice! Building a huge new school I don't believe is necessarily a good thing, and what about the consultation meetings that are supposed to be held before proposals go to full council? This was the procedure used when ccbc closed my daughter's primary school 6 years ago, it seems like the council havemade their mind up already.Also in a local paper it said either pupils will have a new school or be relocated to other schools, now which is it? Transport never used to be provided if you lived less than 2.5 miles away so maybe not all would qualify for it to be provided and any yr 7 pupils now would be changing to a new site in 2016 in yr 11,gcse year, how is that beneficial? Leave both schools alone ccbc!
I remember when they closed the old rhiw-syr-daffydd school in oakdale because the building was outdated then they opened it as a welsh school.
About time too. I'm sorry but Pontllanfraith has been a troubled and problematic school since Miss Stevens was 'removed, housing students in shabby decomposing accommodation for long enough. A clean start is the way forward.
My daughter is due to start Oakdale in Sept and this news has come as a major disruption to us. We have made the decision of Oakdale purely on the fact of the school's credibility and that they are the only school at grade 1 in the borough. I myself went to Oakdale, and was impressed with the development over the years. It would really concern me with my daughter having to travel to Blackwood comp every day from Ynysddu. My main issue's with joining both schools together and having the so called SUPER school would be the size of the catchment area and also of the classes. My daughter has dyslexia and the thought of her missing out because the council are trying to save money infuriates me. The fact that CCBC think that us parents will apparently believe that it would benefit our children, seriously ask us first. If these plans go ahead my daughters GCSE years would be greatly affected this alone I do not believe is fair. CCBC think of the kids and what it will do to them instead of the saving!!!!!
It's not about the school performance, the problem is Oakdale comprehensive was a poorly planned school. It has had to be underpinned a number of times and cannot be done again. I will be sad to see it close but as long as the new school carries on with the great work they have done over the past few years, it will be the school that every one will want to go to.
The earlier comment about Pont Comp from I Dunne on 26th June was unfair and probably comes from someone with no children at the school. If you look at the latest school inspection you would see how greatly improved the school is_ Closing it would have no benefit compared to the disruption it would cause and people should not make comments about something they know nothing about.Let parents decide what's best for their own children CCBC , PONT IS A GOOD SCHOOL!
absolutely stupid decision to shut oakdale comp school my daughter has just walked away with 12 a to cs in her gcse exams and the special needs dept is fantastic i would never send my children anywhere else Mr David is a fab head teacher with an amazing team of teachers (WELL DONE OAKDALE KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK)
hi i do not think it is a bad school and should not be closing . give me reasons it should close!!
A ridiculous number of surplus places making it financially not viable.
Poor and decrepit accommodation that you would not house animals in let alone expect children to be taught in.
An ongoing struggle to recruit and retain calibre staff because of its historic issues – including the role of head teacher which has been something of a hot potato no one wanted to touch for too long.
That's before you unearth the number of industrial tribunals relating to the treatment and working conditions of staff….
This closure is a chance for the area to finally have a state of the art building and a revised educational ethos which is the least our children deserve.