Dear Andrew,
Thank you for submitting your mitigations following the completion of your WLIA for the Godre’rgraig project. Whilst the mitigations propose addressing some of the Welsh language concerns, many have already been actioned and therefore the mitigation is already in effect. Examples of this include investment in Welsh medium schools including YGG Pontardawe, YGG Trebannws and YGG Ystalyfera Bro Dur (north campus). There are also unknowns within the mitigations which would require further investigation such as whether a new school would attract learners from within the catchment who attend English medium schools in Powys to ensure that the new school is not under capacity and/or attracting learners who would otherwise attend a Welsh medium school.
From the discussions I have had with internal colleagues, we believe it is highly unlikely that members of the Business Case Scrutiny Group (BSCG) and Education Investment Panel (EIP) would recommend the proposal for approval. The reasons for this are not solely related to the Welsh Language impact. The high costs due to site constraints are also a significant concern. To put this into perspective the cost per square meter could be greater than that of your Sustainable Schools Challenge project at Ysgol Rhosafan. As you are aware Ysgol Rhosafan is pushing boundaries in terms of sustainability, and we would expect the costs to be higher which is why we have awarded the first £15million at 100% funding. We are also actively following progress at the school and using it as a case study to help future projects. There are also concerns around the viability of the school from a school organisation and capacity perspective; for example, whether a new school would adversely affect other (English medium) schools in the area. Whilst the SCfL programme does support small schools, they tend to be in rural areas where options for learners at other schools are limited. It is also worth being mindful of our grant condition around clawback for schools which are undercapacity.
We would be happy to meet with you to discuss the above or indeed to provide a sounding board as to whether any alternative proposals are likely to meet our investment criteria.
Best wishes,
Emyr
