PLANS to close all sixth forms in Ceredigion have been blasted as 'deeply concerning'.

The Cambrian News reported last week on plans to close all sixth forms in Ceredigion and replace them with just one site in a bid to save cash.

Last year, Ceredigion County Council’s cabinet gave the green light to begin a review of sixth forms in Ceredigion, and a report was put before the Learning Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 28 September.

The options outlined in the review include closing some sixth forms in a bid to bring the cost to the council and schools down, or closing them all to centralise them on just one site.

The report said that estimated cost of running sixth form courses in 2023-24 is £4,194,750, which is £408,519 more than the sixth form grant from the Welsh Government.

Reacting to the proposals, the Welsh Conservatives Shadow Education Minister, Laura Anne Jones, told BBC Radio Wales earlier on Tuesday: “It is deeply concerning that sixth forms in Ceredigion are in danger as a result of underfunding from the Labour Government.

“It is no surprise that councils are struggling to balance the books due to Labour’s underfunding, the only country in the UK that has cut the education budget in real terms in order to fund their own vanity projects.

“Instead of properly funding our children’s education, Labour have shown us again and again that policies such as £120 million on more politicians and up to a £9bn economic hit from blanket 20mph speed limits are more important to Labour than our children’s future.”

Also reacting to the news, father-of-four, Iestyn ap Dafydd, whose children go to Ysgol Bro Teifi near Llandysul, said it "would be a huge, huge loss to Bro Teifi" and feels it would affect the standards of education.

Ceredigion County Council's Cabinet is due to discuss the proposals next month.