Overview
°¬˛ćAƬ Education directorate established the Abertillery Learning Community in September 2016. The learning community comprises three primary campuses located on Roseheyworth Road, Six Bells Road and Tillery Street along with one secondary campus on Alma Street: together forming an All Through School.
°¬˛ćAƬ County Borough Council (“the Council”) reviews the capacity of its schools on an annual basis. As such, the Council is responding to the high level of capacity places at Abertillery Learning Community Primary campuses.
The Proposal
This consultation proposes reducing the overall capacity of primary places within Abertillery Learning Community from 980 to 770—a reduction of 210 places (21%)—through the closure of one primary campus. The preferred option is the closure of the Roseheyworth Road Campus, which has the lowest number of statutory‑age pupils on roll (119) and the highest levels of backlog maintenance due to the age and condition of the building. All pupils currently attending the Roseheyworth Road Campus can be accommodated at the remaining primary campus sites.
°¬˛ćAƬ County Borough Council will support the Abertillery Learning Community senior leadership team to ensure continued high‑quality primary learning opportunities across the school. The Council remains committed to working collaboratively with the school to develop a long‑term plan that supports sustained growth, development, and improved outcomes.
Therefore, this proposal will be delivered as follows:
- To reduce the capacity of the primary school, which is part of the Abertillery Learning Community, from 980 to 770, to reduce the physical capacity of Abertillery learning Community by closing Roseheyworth Road Campus and to move pupils to the remaining campuses (Six Bells Campus and Tillery Street Campus) with phased implementation commencing from September 2026 and with full implementation by September 2027.
The proposal would support the °¬˛ćAƬ’s Vision for Education as follows:
'Empowering our communities to be ambitious, ethically informed, life-long learners who lead full and healthy lives.
Consultation
This consultation, will provide consultees with the opportunity to learn more about, understand and express their views on the Council’s proposal, which will inform the final decision as to how the proposal is taken forward.
The consultation period for this proposal will commence on Monday 2nd March 2026, concluding on Tuesday 14th April 2026.
Consultees can submit their views on the proposal; however, it should be noted that responses received during this period will not be counted as objections to the proposal. Objections can only be registered following publication of the notice.
The Education Resources and Planning Team has planned virtual meetings with Trade Union and drop-in sessions below for all affected School Governing Bodies, Staff, Pupils parents and the wider community throughout the consultation period.
- ALC – Secondary Campus, Alma Street Abertillery NP13 1YL Tuesday 10th March 2026 3:30pm - 4:30pm for Staff
- ALC – Secondary Campus Alma Street Abertillery NP13 1YL Tuesday 10th March 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm for Governing Body
- The Metropole, Abertillery NP13 1LA Wednesday 11th March 2026 5:00pm - 6:30pm for Parents and Wider Community
- The Metropole, Abertillery NP13 1LA Tuesday 17th March 2026 3:00pm - 6:30pm for Parents and Wider Community
- Virtual Teams meeting Wednesday 18th March 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm Trade Union Representatives
The Council would like you to consider the information set out in the consultation booklet and provide your views on the proposal.
If you have any questions or queries on the information contained within this document, please contact us either by using the email address 21stcenturyschools@blaenau-gwent.gov.uk, or by calling us on (01495) 355116.
Consultation Outcome and Next Steps
Consultation Report
Feedback from the consultation will be collated, analysed and presented in a Consultation Out-turn Report to the Council’s Cabinet on the 30th April 2026. The report will be available on the Council’s website 2 weeks prior to a decision being made to proceed or not to proceed to statutory notice. Hard copies can be obtained on request via the email addresses detailed above. Consultees can also register their wish to be notified of publication of the consultation report by the email address above.
Statutory Notice
Should this proposal be approved at Cabinet; the Council will then publish a statutory notice. The statutory notice period will run for 28 days Tuesday 5th May 2026 – Wednesday 3rd June 2026. During this time, you will be able to make formal objections should you wish to do so, via the email address provided in this consultation booklet.
Any issues raised by interested parties will then be summarised in an Objections Report and presented to the Cabinet for a final decision to be made in June 2026. Should the proposal proceed, a copy of the Statutory Notice will be displayed on the Council’s website and all the campuses of Abertillery Learning Community. Hard copies of the statutory notice will be available upon request.
Determination of Proposal
°¬˛ćAƬ County Borough Council will determine the proposal taking into account the responses received to the statutory notice. This may lead to the approval, rejection or approval of the proposal with modifications.
Decision Notification
Once a decision has been made, an electronic copy of determination will be sent out to all interested parties and published on °¬˛ćAƬ’s County Borough Council’s website within 7 days of the decision.
All Enquiries
If you have any questions or queries, please contact us either by using the email address below, or by calling us on (01495) 355116.
Email: 21stcenturyschools@blaenau-gwent.gov.uk
You are also welcome to complete the on line survey using the following link
All consultation responses should be received by 5pm on Tuesday 14th April 2026, at the latest.