NO decisions have been made to close any sixth forms in Powys, senior Liberal Democrat councillors have stressed.

Instead, the thorny issue of post-16 education in Powys, which now includes education from the age of 14 upwards, has been kicked into touch as a problem for a new administration to deal with after next year’s local elections.

At a meeting of Powys County Council’s Cabinet on Tuesday, March 24, members of the Liberal Democrat and Labour cabinet were given an update on the review of post-16 education.

This sees a change of emphasis following discussions with schools, parents, and other interested parties.

From October 1 to November 30, Powys Council held an “engagement” exercise and asked people for views on post-16 education.

This consultation received 3,739 responses.

Last year, it was revealed that a radical shake-up of post-16 education in Powys, which could see all sixth forms in their schools axed, was being considered.

This is because Powys pupils are not performing as well as expected at A-Level.

The preferred option, which has now been put on the back burner, would see a sixth form college set up with one board of governors and management team across two sites in Brecon and Newtown.

This idea went down like a lead balloon and saw a “Save Our Sixth Form” campaign start at Crickhowell High School, while Ysgol Llanfyllin, Ysgol Bro Caereinion in Llanfair Caereinion, and Welshpool High School in the north of the county say they will work together on a shared sixth form model.

Education portfolio holder Cllr James Gibson-Watt (Liberal Democrat – Glasbury) said: “This is a kind of stock take of where we have got to in what is a phased approach.

He explained the key findings “indicate” what pupils, who need to be at the “centre of this process,” want to see.

Cllr Gibson-Watt said: “Above all else, they want to see a broader-based, high-quality curriculum, and that might not be a surprise.”