Fury at Leisure Centre Threat
By Abby Alford andf Moira Sharkey
Residents have hit out at school reorganisation plans, fearing they will rob them of leisure facilities.
People living in Llanrumney, Cardiff, have branded the council’s proposal for a new flagship community school on the site of the Eastern Leisure Centre, “ludicrous” and “unthinkable”.
Despite council assurances the site will include new leisure facilities for the community, some worry they will not match the current centre and will not be open during the day.
They also fear the green fields around the leisure centre, which are used by dozens of baseball, rugby and football teams, will be lost.
Diane McDonald, of Taunton Crescent, Llanrumney, said she believes community sports events, such as yesterday’s tag rugby tournament between pupils from primaries in the east of the city, including Bryn Hafod, Willowbrook and St Cadocs, could become a thing of the past.
“They can’t take our leisure centre and put it in with a school. That’s just unthinkable,” said Diane.
“We haven’t got that much green space at this end of the city and we fear it will now be taken away.
Her neighbour Lynette Hollinshead said residents are planning a petition.
“It’s the most ludicrous idea I have ever heard of,” she said.
“The fields are in almost constant use and many people use the leisure centre every day. Pensioners in our street go every morning to swim.”
At the launch of the plan on Monday, Cardiff council’s chief schools officer Chris Jones said: “We will demolish Eastern Leisure Centre and we will build for the community a brand new 11 to 16 school that will include provision for 14 to 19-year-olds and will include the new leisure facilities for the community. The idea is to work out a plan which will allow not just the community to access the facilities in the evening, but wherever possible, we will build in extra facilities so they will be used in the daytime.” Decline is ‘irreparable’: With questions being raised on the detail of Cardiff’s schools shake-up today the Echo reveals the reasons behind the decisions.
Proposal One
Close Llanedeyrn High.
Move St Teilo’s Church in Wales High, Llanedeyrn Road, onto this site on Roundwood and increase its capacity.
Open a third Welsh high school on the existing St Teilo’s site.
What the council says:
“Llanedeyrn High has experienced considerable challenges over the last couple of years. We have reluctantly reached the conclusion the decline in that school and the profile it has in its community are probably irreparable.
“Within two or three years there will not be enough space for pupils coming through from primary to attend our two Welsh secondary schools.
“Because of where these schools are (Fairwater and Llandaff North) the third Welsh high school needs to be in the east of the city.” New community school: Proposal Two
Close both Llanrumney High and Rumney High and open a new community-focused school on the site of Eastern Leisure Centre.
Llanrumney High’s site would house a new training centre for the construction industry.
The sports facilities already on this school site would remain.
What the council says:
“We are very clear in the medium-to-long term we only have enough children for one English-medium community school to serve the communities of Llanrumney, Rumney and St Mellons.
“These are areas of significant socio-economic challenge.
“We want to embrace the Welsh Assembly Government’s agenda of community-focused schools not just providing education but also wherever possible making their facilities open to the community.
“We will demolish Eastern Leisure Centre and we will build a new school and will include the new leisure facilities for the community.” Size to match demand: Proposal Three
Locate Whitchurch High onto its lower school site, off Manor Way.
Acquire and demolish the neighbouring Eglwys Newydd site on Glan Y Nant Terrace and use the site for a playing area for Whitchurch High.
Eglwys Newydd and Eglwys Wen will merge. A new school would be built on the vacant Whitchurch upper school site on Penlline Road. Ysgol Melin Gruffydd on Erw Las, in Whitchurch, would then take over the site now used by Eglwys Wen.
What the council says:
“All the children in the Whitchurch High catchment area currently and for the foreseeable future will be able to go to the school.
“We have come up with a solution that if we put Whitchurch on its current lower site and demolish the current Eglwys Newydd Primary that would mean we could contain on the Whitchurch site all its facilities including sporting facilities.” Much consideration to be done Much consideration to be done Proposal Four Consider the future of Catholic schools in the city.
Oblige Glyn Derw High and Michaelston Community College to work together as partner schools.
What the council says:
The sub-committee has not reached consensus on the future of Cantonian and Radyr High.
But it was agreed the details would be reconsidered at the committees meeting in September.
We have three Catholic VA schools across the city.
The Catholic Archdiocese want more time to engage with us in some creative solutions and it was agreed that the consideration of the Catholic provision would be left until the next meeting.
We still need two schools for Ely and Caerau.
What we want to do as part of these proposals is oblige Glyn Derw and Michaelston to formalise their partnership arrangements in terms of the curriculum and community engagement. ‘URGENT ATTENTION NEEDED’: Proposal Five
Close St Anne’s Church in Wales Infant School in Roath and Cefn Onn Primary in Llanishen. Ysgol Y Wern would then take over the Cefn Onn site.
What the council says:
“It would be wrong to believe the schools sub-committee is just sorting out the secondary schools and when they have done all that will come back to the primaries. In a small number of cases the sub- committee decided they needed urgent attention. Two of our schools have, for a number of years, been experiencing challenges in terms of maintaining a proper and full curriculum. Although higher up the school they have got numbers which might be considered viable, the number of pupils now entering both schools is in low single figures. We are now facing the prospect of pupils being in classes that are so small their social and educational experience are compromised.
“The proposals are not a reflection on their previous record.” ‘Council is applauded’: What parents are saying:
“I applaud Cardiff council on the schools re-organisation proposal for Whitchurch allowing the expansion of Ysgol Melin Gruffydd, which is currently oversubscribed.
“However, it appears these are medium-to-long-term plans that do not address the immediate overcrowding in the school.
“The council needs to look at temporary measures that can be brought in ahead of these proposals (hopefully) being introduced.”
Bev Woods, Church Road, Whitchurch
“I have chaired the Cylch Meithrin Eglwys Newydd (feeding Ysgol Melin Gruffydd) for three years now and we are seeing a marked increase in demand for places in the Welsh-medium nursery and school.
“These plans are well overdue, and unfortunately no time scale was given.
“To all the parents of those children attending the schools that are merging; not closing, those of us with children in the Welsh medium schools ask you to try to understand the facts.
“We would all gladly move site instead as none of us minds where the school is, as long as it keeps performing to the excellent standards that it has set.”
Sian Chapman
“Yet again the children of Llanedeyrn are penalised. I have lived in Llanedeyrn for the past 20 years.
“Both my children have attended Springwood Primary and Llanedeyrn High, within walking distance of our home.
“They now face a bus or car journey to whichever school they will be allocated to.
“I really feel our children are being pushed out of a good school for Church and Welsh Medium schools to move in.”
Sarah Hill
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