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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Move to shut town's sixth forms | Move to shut town's sixth forms |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Councillors in Merthyr Tydfil have voted in favour of controversial plans which could see the closure of the town's four sixth forms. | Councillors in Merthyr Tydfil have voted in favour of controversial plans which could see the closure of the town's four sixth forms. |
| The councillors voted to investigate plans to create an expanded tertiary college to replace the sixth forms. | The councillors voted to investigate plans to create an expanded tertiary college to replace the sixth forms. |
| Protests took place ahead of the meeting and afterwards the schools said they were disappointed by the vote. | Protests took place ahead of the meeting and afterwards the schools said they were disappointed by the vote. |
| The Welsh Assembly Government is due to outline how schools and colleges will be required to collaborate more. | The Welsh Assembly Government is due to outline how schools and colleges will be required to collaborate more. |
| The plan to create the Merthyr Learning Quarter will now go out to consultation. | The plan to create the Merthyr Learning Quarter will now go out to consultation. |
| For more than 40 years the four sixth forms have been the backbone of post-16 education in Merthyr Tydfil and the vote on Monday night could mean the end of that era. | For more than 40 years the four sixth forms have been the backbone of post-16 education in Merthyr Tydfil and the vote on Monday night could mean the end of that era. |
| Councillor Richard Thomas, cabinet member for integrated children's services, said they wanted to make the changes for two reasons. | Councillor Richard Thomas, cabinet member for integrated children's services, said they wanted to make the changes for two reasons. |
| We need to give vocational courses equal status with the academic Councillor Richard Thomas | We need to give vocational courses equal status with the academic Councillor Richard Thomas |
| He said the first was that the Welsh Assembly Government was insisting that all education authorities examined what they provided. | He said the first was that the Welsh Assembly Government was insisting that all education authorities examined what they provided. |
| "And the second is that we live in a 21st Century Wales and we have to do everything we can as an authority to ensure that our young people, when they're in competition with other people from Wales, that they are able to front that competition and make sure that they're there at the winning post first," he added. | "And the second is that we live in a 21st Century Wales and we have to do everything we can as an authority to ensure that our young people, when they're in competition with other people from Wales, that they are able to front that competition and make sure that they're there at the winning post first," he added. |
| "Sixth forms were created in grammar schools to promote education achievement at a very academic level. | "Sixth forms were created in grammar schools to promote education achievement at a very academic level. |
| "I'm not suggesting that they haven't modified their stance over the years but unfortunately I think that we are not getting the value for money that we really need for a vast number of other pupils who are not wholly academic. | "I'm not suggesting that they haven't modified their stance over the years but unfortunately I think that we are not getting the value for money that we really need for a vast number of other pupils who are not wholly academic. |
| Pastoral support | Pastoral support |
| "We need to give vocational courses equal status with the academic." | "We need to give vocational courses equal status with the academic." |
| But the schools insisted that they will fight the plans, claiming they offer the kind of educational and pastoral support which a large college would struggle to provide. | But the schools insisted that they will fight the plans, claiming they offer the kind of educational and pastoral support which a large college would struggle to provide. |
| John Strand, the chair of governors at Bishop Hedley High School, said they wanted to maintain a sixth form, like the other schools in the borough, because they believed it offered choice to pupils. | John Strand, the chair of governors at Bishop Hedley High School, said they wanted to maintain a sixth form, like the other schools in the borough, because they believed it offered choice to pupils. |
| He also said as a Catholic high school they believed only they could give the religious guidance for which the school was established 40 years ago. | He also said as a Catholic high school they believed only they could give the religious guidance for which the school was established 40 years ago. |
| BBC Wales' education correspondent Colette Hume said the reorganisation could be repeated across the country. | BBC Wales' education correspondent Colette Hume said the reorganisation could be repeated across the country. |
| Assembly government ministers will later unveil plans for schools, colleges and universities to work more closely in a bid to cut costs. | Assembly government ministers will later unveil plans for schools, colleges and universities to work more closely in a bid to cut costs. |
| I think funding is probably the main driver for this Rex Phillips, Wales organiser for the NASUWT | I think funding is probably the main driver for this Rex Phillips, Wales organiser for the NASUWT |
| It is feared the number of education and training providers will be cut in order to maximise the use of public funds. | It is feared the number of education and training providers will be cut in order to maximise the use of public funds. |
| Rex Phillips, Wales organiser for the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), said he believed sixth forms would survive in certain parts of Wales and that parents would argue against their closure. | Rex Phillips, Wales organiser for the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), said he believed sixth forms would survive in certain parts of Wales and that parents would argue against their closure. |
| "I think funding is probably the main driver for this," he said. | "I think funding is probably the main driver for this," he said. |
| "There is a myth about sixth forms being expensive to run in schools and I think what we cannot lose sight of is the fact that the teachers who teach sixth forms, they teach lower down the curriculum and clearly if you take away the sixth form, you remove funding. | "There is a myth about sixth forms being expensive to run in schools and I think what we cannot lose sight of is the fact that the teachers who teach sixth forms, they teach lower down the curriculum and clearly if you take away the sixth form, you remove funding. |
| "We have heard some arguments to say that some schools can offer that range of choice as well. | "We have heard some arguments to say that some schools can offer that range of choice as well. |
| "We have certainly had a test of this option in north Wales in Rhyl where the local authority there decided just to surrender responsibility for post-16 education in that area. | "We have certainly had a test of this option in north Wales in Rhyl where the local authority there decided just to surrender responsibility for post-16 education in that area. |
| "But it is the minister, if there is opposition, that makes the final decision on whether or not the sixth forms close within those schools." | "But it is the minister, if there is opposition, that makes the final decision on whether or not the sixth forms close within those schools." |
| Merthyr Tydfil Council's four Liberal Democrats voted against plans. | |
| The council's Lib Dem group leader Kevin O'Connor, added "It is worrying that Labour and Independent councillors are happy to approve a project that has such a massive funding hole. In these difficult times, the council needs to tighten its belt. Instead, they are pushing forward with a plan that could leave the council picking up a multi-million pound tab." |