8:00am Monday 15th February 2010
By Bill Tanner
AS Herefordshire’s smallest schools move into a new era, the smallest of them might not be around to see it.
Dilwyn Primary has reached the point where its present and projected pupil numbers probably aren’t going to be enough to keep it open.
This week, Herefordshire Council pitched four options that could still secure the school’s future, as defined by a recent review.
Linking Dilwyn with another school under a federation arrangement is uppermost among these options but the council concedes that, as yet, no school seems to want to make this commitment.
Any shutdown of Dilwyn, should it happen, is not part of the council’s programme to put small schools into clusters.
After the public protests against school closures or mergers in 2008, the authority pledged not to shut small schools over the life of the current administration, but retained the “strong case” clause to do so contained in its current small schools policy.
This policy stipulates that a school with 36 or fewer pupils needs to “enter into discussion” with the authority about its future and the education it offers.
Dilwyn, which now has 31 pupils, has had low numbers for some time and the review examined a range of factors from quality of teaching and learning to trends in pupil numbers and parental preferences.
The review period was even extended to consider whether the federation of schools might provide a way forward, but, as yet, no potential partner is ready to commit.
A consultative document on the future for Dilwyn is now available for downloading off the council’s website at herefordshire.gov.uk.
The document explores four options: federation, amalgamation, closure or continuing as a standalone school.
Councillor Philip Price, cabinet member for ICT, education and achievement, said it was now “appropriate” to seriously consider the future for Dilwyn, including consideration of closure.
A final decision rests with Herefordshire Council’s cabinet later this year.
Dilwyn, then with 36 pupils, brought a coachload of 56 supporters to Hereford in the 2008 rally against school closures and mergers that took over High Town.
At the time, Richard Kelly, a Dilwyn governor and parent, said that, though the smallest, the school proved very popular and had a “next generation”
waiting to join.
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