Methiant i ddeinasoriaid Wrecsam

Mae'n dda gan flogmenai nodi i ymdrech y Blaid Lafur yn Wrecsam i wrthod derbyn grant sylweddol gan y Cynulliad i godi ysgol Gymraeg yng Ngwersyllt fethu mewn cyfarfod o Fwrdd Cyngor Wrecsam y prynhawn yma. Amgaeaf ddatganiad i'r wasg ar y pwnc.gan y Blaid yn Wrecsam isod.

Plaid Cymru - The Party = of Wales. NO EMBARGO - Tuesday 21 = September 2010

Labour fails to block new Welsh-medium school in Wrexham

Labour attempts to derail plans for a new Welsh-medium school in Wrexham have failed.

Today's Wrexham Council executive board voted 8-2 in favour of pushing ahead with the proposed new school in Gwersyllt, where it will meet growing demand in that area for Welsh-medium education. The only two votes against the motion were the two Labour representatives.

Councillor Marc Jones, who leads the Plaid Cymru group on Wrexham Council, said the decision would mean more choice for parents in the borough: "It's an important step in meeting the demand for Welsh-medium education in the borough - just 9% of children currently get their education in Welsh-medium schools but a survey showed 44% of parents wanted it for their children.

"More immediately, this will be a huge relief for staff and parents at Ysgol Plas Coch, where currently there are 115 pupils being taught in mobile classrooms."

But he was furious with Labour opposition to the development: "The attempts to = derail this scheme by the Labour representatives - and risk a =£4.1m grant from the Welsh Government is nothing short of disgraceful. They know that nothing will be built without a full community consultation in the Gwersyllt area and meeting planning guidelines but they still tried to delay this move on the flimsiest of evidence. To vote against a new state-of-the-art school for our borough is scandalous."

Cllr Jones added: "Ysgol Plas Coch, which currently takes many children from the Gwersyllt area, is already bursting at the seams. By the time a new school opens, Plas Coch will effectively be double the size it was designed for. That's why it was so annoying to hear councillors bleating about conditions in English-medium schools when kids in Plas Coch have been taught in Porta cabins for the past three years.

"With a growing school-age = population in Wrexham, there is no threat to local English-medium primary schools or Bryn Alyn. That's another red herring used by Labour to try to block the new school. This will be a much-needed additional school - the first new Welsh-medium school for more than a decade.

"I'm very glad both officers and leading councillors have been able to secure this extra investment for Wrexham at a time when money is becoming so tight."