A historic school in mid Wales with 35 pupils is set to close this summer.

Powys County Council voted to go ahead with the closure of Llandinam CP School in December, with the statutory notice posted on 8 January on the school gates.

Though objections to the notice can be made until 5 February, the closure is likely to go ahead, with the council set to save £34,000 annually.

A spokesperson for the school described it as a “very sad day for us all”.

The school had been teaching children from Llandinam and the surrounding area for over 140 years.

In autumn, 745 people signed a petition against the closure.

If the closure goes ahead, students will be transferred to other schools in the area, such as Llanidloes or Caersws, with free home-to-school transport supported by the council for those who live more than two miles from their new school.

Objectors highlighted the higher than average rates of children with additional learning needs (ALN) at the school who may be most affected by the closure - 17 per cent compared to 13.8 per cent in Llanidloes and 12.2 per cent in Caersws primary schools.

Cllr Geoff Morgan was one of the main objectors, who said: “If we shut the school, we save £34,000 a year and Powys has a budget of (over) £300 million – this is 0.01 per cent of the budget.

“That’s what we’re talking about, and it’s too much to risk for these kids with ALN.

“They will end up (educated) back at home, and I’m not a fan of that.

“We recently voted to be a council of sanctuary; a caring council, where is the sanctuary for these kids?

“Their sanctuary is Llandinam school – this is totally opposite to what we want to be doing.

“We’re hearing cosy words about their educational needs being met the same in other schools – but they have already tried that.

“It’s cosy words to satisfy our conscience, it’s a step too far.”

As one of the smallest schools in Powys, projected figures anticipated it would remain with small pupil numbers in the years to come, whilst having one of the highest costs per pupil in the county - £7,424 per pupil, compared to the Powys average of £5,214.

On top of the savings and low pupil numbers, the reasons the council gave for the closure included reducing the overall surplus capacity in the council’s other primary schools, pupils would attend larger schools better equipped for the new curriculum and with a wider range of educational and extra-curricular activities, and the possible sale of the school benefiting the council’s finances.

Another reason given was that pupils would be taught in classes with similar age groups - something which is not done when pupil numbers are as small as in Llandinam.

Objections can be sent by email to [email protected] or via post to Dr Richard Jones, Director of Education, Powys County Council, Powys County Hall, Llandrindod Wells, Powys, LD1 5LG.