Carmarthenshire County Council has approved the discontinuation of Ysgol Meidrim at its meeting held on Wednesday, October 14.

The closure will come into effect on 31 December 2026. From 1 January 2027, current Ysgol Meidrim pupils will be transferred to Ysgol Hafodwenog or Ysgol Griffith Jones, subject to parental preference and the Council’s admissions arrangements.

For future pupils from 1 January 2027, the catchment area of Ysgol Gynradd Meidrim will be re-designated and included within the existing catchment areas of Ysgol Hafodwenog, Ysgol Griffith Jones and Ysgol Bancyfelin.

Ysgol Meidrim was identified based on criteria set out within the Modernising Education Programme, approved by Cabinet on 18 November 2024 in order to address challenges faced by the school. This includes:

  • Extremely low pupil numbers
  • High surplus places
  • High number of pupils living within catchment are attending other schools
  • Pupil projections suggest that there is little likelihood of pupil numbers increasing dramatically over the next few years
  • Projected deficit budget at the end of this financial year

Carmarthenshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr Glynog Davies, said: “The decision taken by Full Council has been an incredibly difficult one, however the long term challenges facing Ysgol Meidrim could not be ignored. This includes very low pupil numbers, substantial surplus capacity and the resulting financial pressures, with no evidence from the projections of sufficient growth to reverse that position."