FOUR primary schools in Carmarthenshire face potential closure, a new report has said.

The council is proposing to shut Ysgol Llansteffan, Llansteffan, at the end of August 2026 and Ysgol Y Fro, near Kidwelly, Ysgol Meidrim, west of Carmarthen, and Ysgol Pontiets, Pontyates, at the end of December 2026.

Members of a council scrutiny committee will hear about the plans at a meeting on October 14.

The recommendation, as it stands, is to publish a statutory notice to discontinue Ysgol Llansteffan because it had fewer than 10 pupils during an assessment last year, and undertake a formal consultation regarding the three other schools prior to a potential statutory notice being published.

The four schools were identified as part of an over-arching council strategy to modernise education which considered these factors:

Cllr Glynog Davies, cabinet member for education, said the strategy aimed to ensure a sustainable and balanced provision of education throughout the county.

“These proposals will help to address the challenging circumstances faced by individual schools and the wider school system, which includes schools operating with pupil numbers far below their intended capacity and unsustainable financial situations,” he said.

Carmarthenshire has a large number of primary schools and while they are often a key part of their community it is expensive to run them and many are in deficit. Some parents also choose to send their children to schools in other catchments areas.

Closing the four schools would save the council an estimated £342,064 per year, according to the report, plus a further £30,915 in various centralised costs such as human resources support, the music service and grounds maintenance.

On top of that the council could sell them for an estimated £695,000, according to its report, if there was no corporate or community interest in the buildings.

Cllr Tyssul Evans, whose Llangynderyn ward includes Ysgol Y Fro, said: “Sadly we are as a local authority dependent on funding from central government and there have been cutbacks. And unfortunately the number of pupils in these schools has fallen drastically over the years.

“We are faced with reality. We have to take steps. We have got to live within our means. It is sad, of course it is.”

Cllr Alex Evans, whose Glyn ward includes Ysgol Pontiets, is a governor at the school but said he could not say anything at this stage as he wasn’t the chairman.

Ysgol Llansteffan has a capacity for 62 pupils but only had eight including one of nursery age when assessed last year. It’s costing £18,545 per pupil to educate them, according to the committee report, more than three times the £5,480 country average.

There were 30 pupils at the school in 2021 and the number is forecast to rise to 18 in five years’ time. Options to avoid closure have been considered but closing it and transferring pupils to Ysgol Llangain is the preferred one. The impact on the community, said the report, was anticipated to be “minimal”.

Ysgol Y Fro had 15 pupils in January this year and a capacity of 41. It was placed in “special measures” this year following an inspection by Welsh Government body Estyn. The plan is for pupils to transfer to Ysgol Y Dderwen.

Ysgol Meidrim, meanwhile, had 31 pupils in January, with a capacity of 54. Like Ysgol Y Fro it is also in “special measures”. Pupils would move to Ysgol Griffith Jones if it’s closed.

Ysgol Pontiets had 24 pupils in January and a capacity of 85. Four years ago 41 youngsters attended it. The preferred receiving school is Ysgol Pum Heol.

Ysgol Pontiets is the only one of the four under threat which has a budget surplus but the council report said it had “a signicant in-year overspend” and was likely to move into deficit.

Education officials said parents wouldn’t have to send their children to the preferred receiving schools.

There are several steps before any final decisions on school closures are taken, and these decisions will be made by full council.

The education, young people and Welsh language scrutiny committee is also due to hear more about an Estyn report focusing on school reorganisation and curriculum development in Carmarthenshire.

Estyn inspectors said the council was “acutely aware” of the financial pressures facing education and the significant rise in school deficits. Their report asked how the pace of change could be increased to reorganise and modernise education in the county, including a reduction in the number of schools with significant surplus capacity.