The schools campaign group have iisued a statement which is set out below. In addition at last weeks public meeting it was agreed to make available details of Welsh Ministers and to ask supporters to write to them in support of the school but covering particular area of concern. Also below is the internet link to access both please write and make your voice heard. Petition numbers now trhough 1200 (400 up on this time last week, lets keep it going. John Fitzgerald 1. Web link for details of Ministers and outline letter issues: http://www.gwernyfed-hs.powys.sch.uk/news-and-events/powys-schools-reorganisation/campaign-details/ 2. There is a meeting of the campaign group in the Drama School at the school on Wednesday 9 March at 7pm for anyone who would like to contribute time or skills. 3. Campaign group statement: Churchill famously said “We cannot say that this is the end or even that it is the beginning of the end but it is the end of the beginning.” Today we can say the same in regard to the Council's proposals to shut Gwernyfed High School. A year ago we were in exactly the same position and some people are saying that because we are here again means that it this is the end of the school. It is not. This is not the end. The Council's proposals, despite a clear opportunity to do something better, remain the same; to close Gwernyfed and open a new school that would be split between the current site in Three Cocks and the site of Brecon High School by September 2017 at the same time getting rid of the 6th Form and leaving it to the college in Brecon to teach all A levels. At some point in the future, timescale unclear but the Council admit it will be a large job to put together the funding, they will be build a new school in Brecon and all the pupils will be taught there. Some people are saying that this is clearly the beginning of the end for Gwernyfed High School because it will wither as parents send their children to other schools to make sure they are not sucked into Brecon. This is not the case. This is not the beginning of the end. If we hold our ground we will defeat these ridiculous proposals and secure the future of secondary education in the Gwernyfed catchment area. It is, however, the end of the beginning. Now that we have seen the Council's proposals and the arguments they have based these proposals on we can see the flaws, failings and weaknesses of their case. These are so many and various and so often at odds with guidelines established by the Welsh Government and best practice that it is impossible to see how they can be carried through. For instance Welsh Government insist that decisions to close schools should place the interests of learners above all others. In the business case presented by the Council the decision is significantly weighted towards the financial benefits with precious little reference to the interests of learners. Not surprisingly because it is hard to see how closing one of the most improved schools in Powys which delivers excellent results on a balanced budget with a strong, stable teaching staff in an inspirational setting could benefit the learners. Putting these learners on a bus to Brecon is clearly not going to improve anything for them. Once again the Council seem prepared to ignore the isolation and exclusion that these proposal impose on many of our children. Expecting a significant proportion of young people to spend a considerable time on a bus each day is unreasonable. In the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of this proposal the Council themselves identify as a weakness that “Pupils living in the Gwernyfed catchment area may find it more difficult to access after school activities due to living further away from the school and reliance on home to school transport.” They also identify as a disadvantage the “Additional travel requirements for Gwernyfed pupils.” Indeed in the list of disadvantages there are none that impact upon Brecon. It seems to be acceptable to the Council that our children take the hit. Similarly they identify the “negative social and economic impact on communities within the Gwernyfed catchment.” No impact on the business or social life of the Brecon catchment. Those of you whose children have already moved from primary school to Gwernyfed will know that the transition arrangements are excellent minimising the anxiety felt by young people at this time and enabling them to settle quickly in high school. The Council acknowledge that their proposal threatens these arrangements. Again they seem quite happy to allow 11 year olds to suffer greater anxiety and stress than is currently the case. Indeed because of their incompetent handling of the whole “Modernisation” process many children in our catchment are all too familiar with the stress that uncertainty brings. So what benefits do the Council identify to outweigh these disadvantages and threats? They have an idea that 600 pupils make for a school that delivers excellent standards, a balanced budget and has no problem retaining staff. At under 400 we do this already whilst Brecon at over 600 has experienced significant issues in all of these matters. The Council think that they will save money on maintenance costs but this certainly will not be the case whilst they are running two school sites and they have no idea how long they will be doing this for. The Council consider that by handing the 6th form provision to Neath Port Talbot College they will improve the results but our students already get the results they need to go to the universities they want. What improvement do they think necessary? Gwernyfed has been rated by the Council themselves as a “Yellow” school. This means that we are making strong progress in improving standards and knows what we need to do to improve further. Together with the Estyn inspection report the school is identified as having a strong ethos and learning culture. 95% of the lessons taught are good or better. We have a strong culture of care, support and appropriate intervention which enables all students to perform well and particularly protects and supports the more vulnerable students. We have strong and resilient leadership and a well dispersed management structure with good strength in middle management.. All of these are identified as opportunities that the new school will in time deliver. We are already delivering these by the Council's own reckoning. The next stage is Consultation and everybody who wishes to should have the opportunity to contribute to that consultation. The Council are obliged to listen carefully to what is said in the consultation period and respond to each point. It must also be clear that whilst they have a stated position they are prepared, in the light of the challenges made to their plans, to change their minds if it clearly makes sense to do so. We encourage everyone to make their voice heard. Write to anybody you can think of but particularly we would suggest the First Minister and the Education minister of the Welsh Government (details of which are at the bottom of this). Come to the Consultation meetings, encourage your children to express their opinion. Ask the questions that are bothering you and expect to get answers that make sense. Together we are strong enough to defeat this farcical excuse for an educational reform.