FIGURES which show 22 Conwy schools are below capacity has led to an outspoken councillor again questioning why the council isn’t prioritising shutting small rural primary schools.
The figures released by the Pupil Level Annual School Census reveal that Conwy has five schools with 35% or less capacity – with all schools in the county having unfilled places.
Cllr Paul Luckock has now named a rural school he believes should close. According to the 2025 figures, the schools with the lowest capacity are: Ysgol Betws y Coed at 10% with 10 pupils; Ysgol Ysbyty Ifan at 35% with 14 pupils; Ysgol Llanddoged at 34% with 33 pupils; Ysgol Dolwyddelan at 31% with 18 pupils; and Ysgol Capel Garmon at 35% with 16 pupils.
Other figures presented in a Conwy school budget working group spreadsheet for 2025 reveal that Ysgol Betws y Coed receives £13,672 per pupil whilst Ysgol Ysbyty Ifan receives £13,193, Ysgol Llanddoged £7,425, Ysgol Dolwyddelan £10,056, and Ysgol Capel Garmon £13,844.
Meanwhile Ysgol Deganwy receives just £3,712 per head, Ysgol Glanwydden £3,703, and Ysgol Pen y Bryn £3,741, with many more coastal schools in a similar situation.
Cllr Luckock says all Welsh schools should have at least 120 pupils in line with Welsh Government learning methodology for the funding formula to work.
The Abergele councillor has again proposed all schools with less than 120 pupils should be considered for closure, with rural schools centralised, perhaps using one existing, modernised school building.
“My clear assertion is that we should look at all schools with less than 120 pupils,” he said.
“We should prioritise those schools with the largest number of surplus places, and the reason I say that is if we are going to build and create area schools in rural areas, we do need to join up the dots in relation to those buildings that are most underused and look at them for being the base for potential area schools.”
According to the figures, every school in Conwy has unfilled places; Ysgol Betws y Coed with 90% has the most and Ysgol Llandudlas the least at 2%. But Conwy has 16 schools that are at least 30% unfilled, and five of those are 60% unfilled or more (Ysgol Betws y Coed 90%; Ysgol Ysbyty Ifan 65%; Ysgol Llandogged 66%; Ysgol Dolwyddelan 69%; and Ysgol Capel Garmon 65%).
This means rural schools are much more expensive to run per pupil.
Cllr Luckock pointed to a recent Estyn report for Ysgol Ysbyty Ifan and proposed shutting the school, along with others in rural communities.
He said: “If you take a school like (Ysgol) Betws y Coed, on the class figures which they had to send in last year, they’ve got 10 children.
“I think they’ve actually got 12 children at the moment. But my argument is there is a school building that could cope with 100 children for example.
“So I’m not saying Betws y Coed could not be the centre of an area school. I’m (proposing, for instance) extending that school so that it could have 120 places – it may need an extension – that could then become the area school.
“Other schools in that wider area could be closed. Ysbyty Ifan, to be honest, that Estyn report… The school failed on every ground.
“So why are we keeping open a school with 14 pupils that has failed on every ground?
“It is irrational that we are not prioritising the closure of that school.”
He added: “I cannot believe even the most strident Plaid colleague in their heart of hearts saying we’ve got to sustain that school. It is not rational.”
Cllr Luckock blamed the current Conwy leadership for the problem and claimed the council’s director of education generally agreed with him, despite schools being viewed by many as vital in sustaining rural communities.
“I think sustaining these small schools for Conwy has been an absolute priority,” he said.
“That’s why we put so much money into doing it, but I think in 2025, it’s not just the financial pressures; it’s the concerns for children, particularly the attainment of children from low-income families.
“I just think in the three years that I’ve been councillor, the avoidance of dealing with this controversial issue, it’s just so unwise.
“We have got to tackle it.
“Of course, there will be a lot of political flack, but we’ve avoided this problem for too long so, therefore, we’ve got to grip it now.
“So even the most determined defender of small primary schools must doubt about whether they should be sustained.”
He added: “The key issue is the lack of political leadership.
“That is the most crucial thing. If you spoke to the director of education (Dr Lowri Brown), she would not disagree with me on some of these issues, but because of the position of the political leadership, she would have great difficulty saying that publicly.
“The conversations I have with Dr Lowri Brown, she acknowledges we should be doing more and doing things more quickly in terms of these small schools.”
Cllr Luckock’s claims were put to Conwy County Council, including his comments about the director of education.
A Conwy County Council spokeswoman commented: “We’re committed to ensuring that all learners have a good quality learning experience, whilst making sure that our educational settings operate as efficiently and effectively as possible.
“School modernisation continues to be a priority, and we work with our communities to deliver effective education.
“We’ll continue to monitor the capacity of our schools in line with the Welsh Government School Organisation Code.”
The Local Democracy Reporting Service attempted to contact Betws-y-Coed and Trefriw councillor Liz Roberts about closing Ysgol Ysbyty Ifan.
