A long campaign was fought to keep Moylegrove Primary open

On Thursday - the last day of term - some of the 20 schools will close their doors for good.

Campaigners against their closure say they provide a high standard of education, but local authorities have said smaller schools are costly and difficult to run.

There are around 250 small schools in Wales, most of them in rural areas, but the numbers are falling every year.

It's a very sad day for pupils and the community Parent Jonathan Guest

At Moylegrove Primary school in north Pembrokeshire, west Wales, parents have fought a long battle to save it from closure.

The school has just 23 pupils and Pembrokeshire Council wants the children to go to a new, bigger school which it says has better facilities, more teachers and fewer costs.

John Davies, of Pembrokeshire Council, said a bigger school would provide pupils with a better education.

"We are committed to providing better schools and we are spending on a per capita basis more than any authority in Wales," he said.

Long campaign

"But we have to make difficult decisions.

"Communities have to evolve and the services the authority provides also evolve."

Moylegrove parent Jonathan Guest was part of a year-long campaign by parents to save the 125-year-old school.

"It's a very sad day for pupils and the community," he said.

"We have led a hard campaign.

'Community value'

"There are lots of considerations. For some children bigger schools are better, but smaller schools may be better for others.

"We also have to take into account the community value."

There are currently around 250 schools with fewer than 50 pupils in Wales with consultations taking place over whether to close more than the 20 planned for the next academic year.

Some parents say children get more one to one attention and do better academically than children in larger schools.

But Local Education Authorities closing small schools say they are doing so for reasons including cost and the condition of small schools.

Many were built in the 19th century and some have outside toilets and are in a bad state of disrepair.

Most school closures are in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire although closures in mid Wales are also being considered.