Speaking in the Senedd in today’s Welsh Conservatives debate on school closures in South Wales East, William Graham AM said:
‘The arguments for building on the foundations provided by our schools in South Wales East are compelling and we should look to improve their standards rather than ripping up the existing framework and introducing large unaccountable titan schools.’
Commenting on potential closures in the South Wales East region, the Conservative AM continued:
‘Authorities must engage in a detailed and robust consultation for any proposed school closure. Consider the concerns surrounding any merger between Ystrad Mynach College and Coleg Gwent -although currently described as a strategic alliance, any future merger or closures must only be allowed to occur after extensive and meaningful consultations’
‘The excellent facilities at Newport High School – which opened last November at a cost of £28 million- demonstrate what can be achieved where there is strong local support for a closure and opening of a replacement facility. The school demonstrates how modern facilities and a customised learning environment can provide a major boost to pupils’ performance in examinations – The school’s A* to C GCSE pass rate was 51 per cent last year and is expected to reach 67 per cent next year.’
‘With the same design team who worked on the Newport High School project are now engaged on the replacement Hartridge High School scheme with construction planned to start in July 2010 this is clearly an encouraging time for pupils and educators in Newport – demonstrating what is possible from traditional secondary schools that have strong support from their local community.’
