Ysgol Gymraeg Ystalyfera Bro Dur, the Welsh-medium school that runs across two campuses, could be split into two separate schools from September 2028.
Neath Port Talbot Council wants to close the school in its current form and open two new Welsh-medium schools on the same sites, one in Ystalyfera and one at Bro Dur in Sandfields.
Each would have its own headteacher, governing body, senior team and budget.
The school has 1,591 pupils. Its Ystalyfera campus teaches children from nursery to sixth form, and Bro Dur teaches 11 to 16-year-olds.
What changes for Ystalyfera and Bro Dur pupils
Pupils would stay on the site they attend now, and the age ranges and admission arrangements would not change, the council says.
Ystalyfera has 20 nursery pupils, 127 primary pupils, 751 aged 11 to 16 and 214 in the sixth form. Bro Dur has 479 pupils aged 11 to 16.
The full curriculum would stay on both sites. The consultation document says no buildings change hands and no new school journeys are expected.
Built as one school until the numbers grew
The council’s cabinet set the school up in 2016 as a single school across two campuses, to cut empty places and deal with repair and accessibility costs.
The plan was always to keep it as one school until each site had enough pupils to support its own budget. The council now says that point will be reached by 2028.
The number of children in Welsh-medium education across the county borough has risen from 3,221 in 2017 to 3,666 this year, from 15.5% to 18.3% of pupils.
Bro Dur shrank from 525 pupils to 479 over the last five years, but the council expects 591 by 2028 and 721 by 2033.
“Increased staff anxiety” among the risks the council lists
The council says two schools would bring clearer leadership and accountability, and let each campus build its own identity.
It also lists the downsides: disruption and uncertainty for pupils, families and staff, “potential additional costs” from running two leadership teams, and a risk to curriculum breadth and shared specialist expertise.
Its risk list includes “increased staff anxiety” and resistance from pupils, parents and staff. Staff and trade unions would be consulted, with posts “considered in accordance with agreed HR processes”.
The documents do not say how much a second leadership team would cost, or how the two headships would be filled.
Estyn’s last inspection, in 2022, found a caring school that managed a “complex two-campus school” with commitment, but set priorities of stronger leadership accountability and better attendance, according to the council’s summary.
When families can have their say on the Ystalyfera Bro Dur split
The proposal, from cabinet member for education Cllr Nia Jenkins, goes to the council’s education scrutiny committee on Thursday, before cabinet decides on 21 October whether to consult.
If cabinet agrees, the consultation will run from 2 November to 14 December, with responses by letter, email to SSIP@npt.gov.uk, or the comment form in the consultation document.
If the council then goes ahead, it must publish a statutory notice with 28 days for written objections, before cabinet makes a final decision.
The school featured in S4C’s Athrawon earlier this month, which followed three of its newly qualified teachers through their first year.
