A MEIRIONNYDD super school is no longer expected to have any religious status following an outcry from local residents and officials.

Gwynedd Council has received correspondence from the Diocese of St Asaph, the Church in Wales, stating that it wishes to support a way forward that protects the £10m investment and avoids any delay to the 3-19 Learning Campus development in Bala.

Following a long-running dispute between Gwynedd Council, local schools and Church in Wales (CiW) about whether the school should have a ‘Voluntary Controlled’ status (i.e, with representation on the board from the church) or ‘Community status’ (with no entrenched CiW governors) it appears the organisations will now “work together to bring a satisfactory conclusion to the debate”.

Following consultation with school governing bodies in the Y Berwyn catchment area, who were typically against any enforced church involvement, Gwynedd Council’s cabinet will meet on 27 June to consider a recommendation to withdraw the proposal to establish a Voluntary Controlled 3-19 Learning Campus.

If the cabinet accepts this recommendation, as is expected, a further report will be considered by Cabinet members in September 2017 which will offer an alternative model for consultation in accordance with relevant national requirements.

The director of education for the diocese, Rosalind Williams, said in her letter: “The needs of the current and future pupils at the new school are our priority.

"The Diocese of St Asaph wishes to support a way forward that protects the investment of £10m and allows the new school to open as soon as possible so that the children of Bala, Penllyn and the wider community can benefit.”

Read the full story in this week’s Meirionnydd edition of the Cambrian News