A FIRST stage application for a new super school and college in Brecon has been approved by the Welsh Government.
But Powys County Council has also been warned it could face a legal challenge to its proposal to close Gwernyfed High School, a key element of its plan for a new Beacons Learning Campus on the existing site of Brecon High School.
The council intends for the new campus to accommodate up to a thousand 11 to 16 year old pupils, replacing the existing Brecon and Gwernyfed high schools. It is expected to be operational by September 2018.
The council had submitted its 'strategic outline case' with the NPTC Group college. The campus, which the council is now calling a £55 million development, will also include a sixth form academy, vocational college and pupil referral unit.
Welsh Government Minister for Learning, Huw Lewis AM announced the government had approved the strategic outline case and that the county council and its partners could start developing the detailed business case.
Welcoming the announcement, Powys County Council cabinet member for schools, Councillor Arwel Jones said: "This project is the largest undertaken by the county council and its partners and will be at the centre of our secondary school transformation programme providing the very best facilities possible for our young learners.
"We are delighted that the Welsh Government has approved our plans and we can now start with the detailed work needed to deliver such an ambitious development.
"The decision does not mean that the consultation work planned for Brecon and Gwernyfed catchment areas will not go ahead or is a foregone conclusion. The council is committed to full consultation on plans for the two catchment areas later this year.
"The funding letter from the Welsh Government makes it absolutely clear that the offer is 'without prejudice' and that all statutory proposals for school organisation must be successfully completed."
The council's plans, which it is expected to consult on in the autumn, are to close both Brecon and Gwernyfed in July 2017 and re-open them as one school, split between the existing sites, from that September until the new campus is complete.
However a parent has been granted legal aid so that an expert solicitor can examine the council's proposal to close Gwernyfed.
Newport based solicitor Michael Imperato, who specialises in education law, said he and a top London QC are currently scrutinising the council's proposals to see if they can be challenged through the courts.
The proposal for the Beacons Campus would also see Welsh medium education no longer provided in Brecon. The council is currently consulting on its plan to transfer Welsh medium education from Brecon to Builth Wells High School from September 2016.
Longer term Welsh medium education would be based at 'a Mid Powys' school with a sixth form. The council is currently reviewing the future of secondary provision in Builth and Llandrindod, with the the possibility one of the schools could close and future of the sixth form at Ysgol Maesydderwen in Ystradgynlais.
'Legal challenge to school plan' - see this week's Brecon & Radnor Express for more this story - on sale now