mACHYNLLETH Town Council has written to the county council to oppose a language change at the town’s school, after receiving an “unprecedented number of letters” against the move.

On 1 June, the town council held an extraordinary meeting to discuss a proposal for the phased transition of Ysgol Bro Hyddgen from dual-stream school to a Welsh-medium school, after receiving “numerous” letters from concerned parents.

Seven councillors voted to oppose the proposal and one voted to support it.

As a result, the council has now sent a letter to Powys County Council, expressing concern.

The letter states: “We have received an unprecedented number of letters from our community all opposing the change.

Not a single letter of support has been received.

“The town council recognises the important of the promotion of the Welsh language, this should not be at the detriment of choice.”

They added the consultation “met the minimum standards” but “more initiatives” should have been employed to reach a wider audience.

The reasons given for opposing the change include: the proposal is “anti-inclusion” and “amounts to a reduction in choice”; the fact that the school “is ahead of the curve in achieving one million Welsh speakers by 2050”; the lack of choice will “drive people” to leave town or go elsewhere for education; the plans for the immersion unit “are vague and fall short of being immersive”; it will be “detrimental to those children with ALN without high levels of support”; and they raised concerns regarding what will happen to English-speaking staff.

On 17 June, Powys County Council published a statutory notice on the proposal.

A Powys council spokesperson said that by the end of the phased transition in 2035, “all education will be delivered through the medium of Welsh”.

The change would be introduced year-by-year, starting with the school’s reception class in September 2022.

Powys Council added that additional support would be provided to pupils to improve their Welsh language skills, including ‘opportunities’ for immersion centres.

Members of the public have until 15 July to submit any objections to proposal to the council.

To view the statutory notice visit https://en.powys.gov.uk/article/9999/Ysgol-Bro-Hyddgen-Machynlleth. Alternatively, email edu [email protected] or via post to the interim chief education officer, Powys County Council, Powys County Hall, Llandrindod Wells, Powys LD1 5LG.