Two Welsh-medium primary schools in Carmarthenshire are set to close despite community protests and attempts to keep them open. A final decision on the future of Ysgol Meidrim and Ysgol y Fro is due to be ratified by a full meeting of Carmarthenshire Council on Wednesday, October 14, after the issue was discussed during a council cabinet meeting on Monday, October 5.
School with 1908 origins faces closure
Ysgol Meidrim, located north of St Clears in Carmarthenshire, first opened in 1908. Last year, proposals were backed by senior council leaders which would see Ysgol Llansteffan close, while consultations were launched about the future of both Ysgol Meidrim and Ysgol y Fro, five miles south of Carmarthen. Ysgol Llansteffan closed this summer.
Protests have taken place on the steps of County Hall in Carmarthen, with parents and members of the communities of both schools calling for them to be saved.
Community plan rejected
Regarding Ysgol Meidrim, which had 31 pupils as of 2025, Ffred Ffransis of Cymdeithas yr Iaith said: “It is such a disappointment to learn that the Cabinet has rejected the path of co-operation with the governors and local community who have worked so hard during the last year both to further improve educational standards and to draw up a detailed and ambitious plan to establish, adjacent to the school site, a community hub which would include childcare, training and community activities in an integrated Welsh-medium Regeneration Centre.
“The governors drew up a detailed plan which identified extra sources of income both to establish and to run the centre.
“It appears, however, that the council has chosen the simple option of writing off the school and the community, viewing such schools as problems rather than as assets.
“Even more disappointing is the fact that members of the cabinet have consistently refused to speak to parents whose children’s education they are disrupting and whose community they are writing off.
“The councillors rely instead solely on reports summarising all the evidence, views and plans of governors and the community.
“And the recommendation is to write off the school and community for an estimated saving of £13,000 after subtracting extra transport costs.”
Council defends process
Carmarthenshire Council insists that all options raised and looked at during the consultation period have been “given proper consideration”, and that a formal decision on the future of both Ysgol Meidrim and Ysgol y Fro will be made next week.
Councillor Hazel Evans, the council’s deputy leader, said: “Following the statutory notice period, all observations have been considered and a comprehensive report compiled.
“This has been presented to the cabinet and will now go to full council on 14 October for a final decision.
“All items presented to cabinet and full council for a decision, as with all Carmarthenshire Council meetings, are given proper consideration, offer the opportunity for items to be debated in full and are followed by a vote in order to make an informed decision.”
Cymdeithas yr Iaith fears that closing Welsh schools in rural locations will signal “the end” for Welsh speaking communities. A spokesperson for the campaign group said: “The council’s own consultation paper showed that under normal circumstances there would be almost 40 pupils at Ysgol Meidrim in January 2028.
“If Meidrim is to close, then 20 other Welsh-medium rural schools in Carmarthenshire are immediately under threat, and that will be the end of our Welsh-speaking rural communities.”
