Issue - meetings

To submit the report of the Director of Education, Skills and Young People.

It was resolved –

·      Following consideration of the Objection Report, to proceed with the proposal to “relocate Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi learners to a new school building for 11-18 Year olds.”

·      To approve the submission of the Objection Report to Welsh Ministers for the final decision on the proposal to “relocate Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi learners to a new school building for 11-18 Year olds.”

·      To authorise officers to issue notice of the final decision in the form of a decision letter (in accordance with the School Organisation Code 011/2018) following the approval of the proposal by Welsh Ministers.

·      To commit to fund the Council’s contribution towards the project costs, as set out within section 7 of the Proposal Paper, including transitional costs (section 7.6 of the Proposal Paper) which will be incurred from 2025/26 onwards.

The report of the Director of Education, Skills and Young People incorporating the objection report on the outcome of the statutory consultation on the proposal to relocate Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi learners to a new school building for 11-18 year olds, was presented for the Executive’s consideration.

Councillor Dafydd Roberts, Portfolio Member for Education and the Welsh Language presented the report and outlined the background. The Council  adopted its Modernising Learning Communities and Developing the Welsh Language Strategy in July 2023 and in March 2024 prepared a Strategic Outline Plan that prioritised a new building for Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi due to RAAC issues at the school. On 22 May 2025, the Executive agreed to hold a statutory consultation on the proposal to relocate Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi learners to a new school building for 11-18 year olds. The consultation ran from 5 June to 17 July 2025 and the outcome was reported to the Executive on 21 October 2025 which approved the proposal and authorised the publication of a statutory notice. This was issued on 6 November 2025 and was followed by a statutory objection period of 28 days, the results of which are set out in this report.

The Strategic Leader (Secondary Sector) explained that under section 49 of the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013, the Council as the proposer, must publish a summary of all the statutory objections received along with its response to them. Two valid objections to the proposal were received each raising more than one issue, and one objection which was deemed invalid. These, together with the Council’s response are summarised in sections 3 and 4 of the report. In accordance with section 5.2 of the School Organisation Code, because the proposal affects sixth form education, it requires approval by Welsh Ministers who must be notified within 35 days of the end of the objection period which is 23:59 on 7 January 2026. A ministerial decision is expected by the end of March 2026.

The Executive’s members were agreed that the Council’s response to the objections received was valid and thorough and they were satisfied with the conclusions reached. They emphasised the primary reason for the proposal which was the poor condition of the existing Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi school building, particularly the presence of RAAC, which makes a new school building on the proposed site the most practical solution. Members also noted the strong engagement at the statutory consultation stage, especially from learners and pupils which they found encouraging.

It was resolved –

·      Following consideration of the Objection Report, to proceed with the proposal to “relocate Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi learners to a new school building for 11-18 Year olds.”

·      To approve the submission of the Objection Report to Welsh Ministers for the final decision on the proposal to “relocate Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi learners to a new school building for 11-18 Year olds.”

·      To authorise officers to issue notice of the final decision in the form of a decision letter (in accordance with the School Organisation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4