A north Powys school could become the county’s first all-age Welsh-medium school if a recommendation to Cabinet is approved, the county council has said.

Powys County Council is proposing a phased transition to change Ysgol Bro Hyddgen from a dual-stream school to a Welsh-medium school, where teaching would be through the medium of Welsh, ensuring that all pupils become fully bilingual in Welsh and English.

The proposal will help the council deliver one of the aims in its Strategy for Transforming Education 2020-2030, which is to improve access to Welsh-medium provision across all key stages. The strategy was approved in April 2020.

The council carried out a seven-week consultation during December 2020 and January 2021 and the findings of the consultation report will be considered by Cabinet on Wednesday, May 18.

Cabinet will also be asked to continue with the process change Ysgol Bro Hyddgen from a dual-stream school to a Welsh-medium school, which would be introduced on a phased basis, year-by-year, starting with Reception in September 2022.

If given the go-ahead, the council will publish a statutory notice formally proposing the change. It would then be required to consider another report to conclude the process.

Dr Caroline Turner, Chief Executive of Powys County Council, said: “We would like to thank all those who took part in the consultation exercise for this proposal. After considering all the consultation responses, the recommendation that will be put forward to Cabinet is to continue with the proposal by publishing the statutory notice formally proposing the change.

“In order to meet these aims and objectives within our Strategy for Transforming Education in Powys, we want to move Ysgol Bro Hyddgen along the language continuum. This would ensure that all pupils attending the school have the opportunity to become fully bilingual, fluent in both Welsh and English, therefore contributing to the Welsh Government’s aspiration to achieve a million Welsh speakers by 2050.

“We are developing a fantastic new community campus for Ysgol Bro Hyddgen and the Dyfi Valley community that will be a flagship development not only for the area but also for the county and Wales. Alongside this development we want to give every child the advantages that a bilingual education provides from the very beginning.”

If it goes ahead, the proposed change would be introduced on a phased basis, year-by-year, starting with the school’s Reception class in September 2022. Additional support would be provided to pupils to improve their Welsh language skills including opportunities for immersion education which has proved very successful in other counties.

The council’s Learning and Skills Scrutiny Committee will be considering the proposal on Wednesday, May 12.