A town councillor claims that plans to actively close a local school and convert it into a Welsh Medium school were on the cards, despite the county council claiming there were “no plans to stop English medium education at Kymin View”.

Cllr Xavier Turner, who was elected to the town council to represent the Wyesham ward in July has said that through a Freedom of Information request to Monmouthshire County Council, he has obtained a presentation given to councillors on 12 February 2025, setting out a phased closure plan.

The powerpoint shows, he claims, that the county council had plans to stop the new Reception intake at Kymin View after September 2025, relocate Ysgol Gymraeg Trefynwy (currently at Overmonnow) to the Kymin View site from September 2026 and “fully occupy” the Kymin View site once current pupils transitioned to secondary.

In its response to the FOI, the council said: “Members made it very clear at this meeting that they would not consider this and therefore this was dismissed.”

But Cllr Turner has highlighted that this explanation is unsatisfactory.

He says after the seminar, a meeting was held with Kymin View governors and teachers about the plan and that a statutory consultation on closure was scheduled in the council calendar for October 2025.

Cllr Turner added, “Labour councillors accused me of scaremongering when I raised concerns about Kymin View. Yet this presentation, these follow-up meetings, and even a consultation pencilled into the diary show there were serious plans to close our school. Residents were misled.”

He claims the council has since backed away under public pressure, but Cllr Turner pledged to keep up the fight:

“Kymin View is at the heart of Wyesham. I will continue standing with parents and staff to secure its future — and ensure the council is honest with our community.”

Cllr Turner is also submitting a further FOI request, after MCC refused to release all information citing Section 12 of the Act.

In July, the Beacon wrote that claims an education shake-up would see a primary closed and a Welsh medium school open in its place were “speculative” according to MCC

A spokesman for the county council said at the time while it is drawing up plans to address surplus places in the Monmouth area “it has made no firm proposals as yet, and when it does publish plans they will be in line with strict Welsh Government requirements on allowing parents and the wider community the chance to comment as part of a consultation.”

County Councillor Laura Wright, cabinet member for education, said on social media in July that “there are no plans to close Kymin View - nor are any other schools in Monmouthshire under threat of closure.

“I have been extremely disappointed to see the deliberate misinformation being spread online about the future of Monmouth primary schools, whipped up by the Conservatives in an attempt to influence the outcome of a local [Wyesham] by-election. This has been a campaign of scaremongering, trying to stir up divisions and uncertainty amongst the community.”