WRONG SITE FOR SCHOOL

27 July 2005

As a lifelong supporter of Welsh-medium education, I wish to add my own comments on the current debate on the siting of the new Welsh-medium school on the site of the West Cross House children's home. I obviously sympathise with the frustrations of those parents desperate for a Welsh school in the catchments of Swansea West. This has been too long in coming - a situation that ultimately is down to the priorities of our elected members and council officers.

The prospect of a new school at last must seem like the answer to the prayers of parents in the west of Swansea wishing to have their children educated in Welsh.

How many of them, I wonder, have been up to look at the proposed site.

Does this really offer space for the facilities that would be required for the education of our children into the 21st Century? It would hardly accommodate 200, taking into account the need to provide parking/turning space, hall, cooking facilities, playground etc - even if you consider sharing the playing field of another school acceptable.

And what about the foundation curriculum, with its increased requirements for space to allow younger children to learn through play?

Indeed if you look at the size of the proposed school building you will see that its outline is smaller than the playground of Grange Primary. Therefore, the conditions are either going to be extremely cramped or will be subject to the compromises of a multi-storey building with the attendant problems of lifts and stairs.I

s this what we really want?

Last September the council proposed the closure of Mayals School and the siting of Llwynderw there. Because it became politically difficult, the council retreated from this correctly identified best option.

Surely, the council must re-examine either this option, which would enable the relocation of Llwynderw with a timescale similar to the present proposal, or the option of buying land (which has been agreed in outline with local landowners) for new build. The council maintains the latter option would be too expensive but it plainly has not discounted the costs of road widening and relocation of a children's home associated with the West Cross Lane site!

I would urge all those with an interest in Welsh-medium education to take a look at the proposed site before putting out the flags.I

would also urge any councillors with influence on the cabinet to convince them to reject the latest proposal in the interest of the future of Welsh-medium education. To accept it would be to accept not second but third or fourth best!

John Jones, Port Tennant Road, Swansea