Senior Powys councillors have rubberstamped the decision to close Llandinam primary school at the end of August – despite overwhelming opposition to the proposal.

At a Cabinet meeting on 24 March, councillors received the objections report on the proposal to close the school.

The council received 44 objections during the period which had been batted away by the education officers in the report in what is the final part of the legal process in closing the school.

Education portfolio holder Cllr James Gibson-Watt said: “Alas Llandinam only has 35 pupils and the new Welsh curriculum is much more difficult to deliver in small schools such as this.”

He told colleagues that closure is the “inevitable consequence of these low numbers.”

Cllr Gibson-Watt continued: “Many of the objections came from the pupils themselves which highlights the value they placed on the school, the experiences and support that they have had there.

“The advice we have received following those objections is to proceed with the proposal to close the school from August 31.”

He added that nearby primary schools have the capacity to taken on the pupils and that closing Llandinam would save Powys council £85,000 a year as well as the cost of maintaining the building.

Cllr Gibson-Watt stressed: “I don’t think that should be the issue to drive our decision it must be based on what’s best for these kids and their education.”

Ahead of the meeting, Cllr Gibson-Watt had said “the proposal has not been reached lightly”, but said the council “believes it is necessary to address low numbers and reduce surplus capacity in our primary schools.”

Students from Llandinam will be transferred to other schools in the area, such as Llanidloes or Caersws, with free home-to-school transport supported by the council for those who live more than two miles from their new nearest school.

Objectors to the plan highlighted the higher than average rates of children with additional learning needs (ALN) at the school who may be most affected by the closure - 17 per cent compared to 13.8 per cent in Llanidloes and 12.2 per cent in Caersws primary schools.

As one of the smallest schools in Powys, projected figures anticipated it would remain with small pupil numbers in the years to come, whilst having one of the highest costs per pupil in the county - £7,424 per pupil, compared to the Powys average of £5,214.

On top of the savings and low pupil numbers, the reasons the council gave for the closure included reducing the overall surplus capacity in the council’s other primary schools, pupils would attend larger schools better equipped for the new curriculum and with a wider range of educational and extra-curricular activities, and the possible sale of the school benefiting the council’s finances.

Another reason given was that pupils would be taught in classes with similar age groups - something which is not done when pupil numbers are as small as in Llandinam.

The closure was unanimously voted through.