School bus service scrapping 'grossly unfair' to village

Local councillors dispute the school's claim that social distancing would make the bus service unviable

Councillors in a Wrexham village have slammed a "grossly unfair" decision to withdraw a bus for pupils travelling to a school in neighbouring Flintshire.

About 50 youngsters in Llay use the paid service to Castell Alun High School in Hope, three miles away.

The school says the bus will not run from September because it could not afford extra social-distancing costs.

Councillors for Llay say the decision is "premature" and have urged the school to reconsider.

Head teacher Paula Williams and chair of the governing body Helen Williams have written to parents saying social-distancing requirements meant extra costs would be incurred by the school, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"The school is fortunate that the train station in Hope is only a five minute walk away and there are regular services on the Wrexham-Bidston line which your child may be able to access," they wrote, although there is no station in Llay.

The letter was sent to parents as Castell Alun High School prepares for the autumn term

Llay councillors Rob Walsh and Bryan Apsley responded with a letter expressing "deep concerns" at the decision.

They claimed it was made "prematurely", before the Welsh Government announced a full reopening of schools in September.

"As a result of this announcement, it has been deemed impractical to expect social distancing on school transport," they wrote, suggesting this undermined the argument that the bus service would become unviable.

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Welsh Government guidance on schools returning in September says: "In any school transport, priority should be given to those who are unable to attend without it."

The councillors said the bus was a "lifeline" for children whose parents were unable to take them to school by car.

"There is a danger that several dozen children from Llay will continue to have their education disrupted and that is grossly unfair to them," they added.

However, in the letter to parents, the headteacher and governors' chair also partly blamed new accessibility requirements for transport in Wales for their decision to stop funding the bus service.