MACHYNLLETH’S new super school could be in line for a £20m cash injection - just months after the Cambrian News reported the school had suffered a mass exodus of pupils due to teaching issues, the school’s ranking and a push towards more Welsh language education.

The Welsh Government ranked Ysgol Bro Hyddgen - formed by the merger of the town’s secondary and primary schools in 2014 - as ‘red’, along with some of the worst schools in Wales, and it was claimed that 56 pupils were moved away from the school by parents in its first year of existence.

Town councillors called for standards and quality at the school to become a “priority”, and now Powys council has said that “ambitious plans” for a £20m investment will be submitted to the Welsh Government to form one “state-of-the-art” site. The money would see the “far-from-ideal” primary campus closed, with the secondary campus renovated to create one super-school site.

The outline business case will set out the case for the new all-through school with a capital investment jointly funded by the Welsh Government and the county council.

Cabinet member for schools, Cllr Arwel Jones, said: “We are seeking funding to build a brand new multi-million-pound all-through school in Machynlleth, providing state-of-the-art, 21st Century School learning facilities.”

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