ANGRY parents of pupils at Penglais School have said the school is at “crisis point” over poor performance, staff cuts and a lack of funding.

Parents outlined their major concerns over problems at the Aberystwyth secondary school in a meeting with with AM Elin Jones and MP Ben Lake last Friday morning at the Morlan Centre.

According to parents, there are four major areas of concern - revenue funding which is the lowest in Ceredigion per pupil, a lack of concern and response from Ceredigion council to the issues, a lack of capital funding to enable school improvements, and the impact of Penglais’ low Estyn rating.

A concerned parent, who did not want to be named, told the Cambrian News that “parents registered their dismay over five years of substantial cuts in funding” which has led to a drop in the school’s budget of £500,000 - taking the school to “crisis point”.

Parents also said that Ceredigion council was showing a “lack of concern” for the plight of Penglais and was being “negligent in its duties”.

They also called for money to be invested in facilities, with the school being in a “very poor state of repair”.

“It was a good meeting with parents able to articulate their concerns and frustrations – some got quite emotional,” the parent added.

Penglais School headteacher Mair Hughes told the Cambrian News: “The continued budget constraints within education are becoming increasingly difficult across secondary schools.

“Like other schools, Ysgol Penglais has had to make cuts to staffing over the years which have impacted on the number of teachers and support staff in the school. We are working closely with the county to try to address the funding issues as well as to continue with the ongoing work on school improvement.”

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