Anglesey school closures: Hopes of saving Bodffordd hall

Campaigners fear school closures will threaten the future of Welsh-speaking communities

A village has been given hope that its community centre can stay open despite the closure of its primary school.

Anglesey council bosses have confirmed Ysgol Gymuned Bodffordd will close, along with Ysgol Corn Hir, to be replaced by a new school in Llangefni.

There were 111 letters of objection to the closure of the school in Bodffordd.

Bob Parry, a councillor for the area, said losing the school would be a "blow", but the idea of buying the site's village hall would be explored.

The county council wants to close smaller schools to cut costs and raise standards, but opponents fear this will hit the heart of their communities.

Plans for the new 360-pupil "super school" have been welcomed in Llangefni, due to the cramped and dated conditions at Ysgol Corn Hir.

But residents of Bodffordd fought to save their 80-pupil village school, which also houses the community centre known as Y Ganolfan.

Councillors confirmed on Monday that discussions were underway which could see villagers take over the hall, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The community centre is the only real meeting place in the village, one councillor said

Mr Parry said: "The Ganolfan is the heart of the village and I know there's a lot of concern regarding what will happen to it.

"Losing the school will be a blow of course, but I'm confident that the new school will also be a natural Welsh-speaking one."

Councillor Alun Mummery added: "I'm pleased that efforts are underway to keep the Ganolfan open as it's the only real meeting place in the village."

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Meirion Jones, the council's executive board member responsible for education, said closing a school was "never an easy decision".

However, Ffred Ffransis from the Welsh language campaign group Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg said the Welsh Government should stop the closure to "save the credibility" of its new strategy to protect rural schools.