Campaigners lobbied the council meeting over the schools

Councillors have agreed to look at other options for the possible relocation of the schools around Ystradgynlais in the upper Swansea Valley.

Protesters had claimed they were not fully consulted over the plans.

The council - which denied the accusation - has pledged full consultation over its proposals.

Two of the schools earmarked for closure - Cwmtwrch and Ynyscedwyn - are Welsh-medium, and two - Gurnos and Glanrhyd - are English-medium.

It's going to have a massive effect on the community Tom Addey, chair of school governors

The recommendation before the full council on Friday had suggested two replacement schools to be built on the Glanrhyd site and for the 389 pupils at the existing schools to move there.

The closure option - along with that of a number of other small village schools in Powys - was put forward last November after a review of the county's primary schools found some were too big for the number of pupils they serve.

Opponents of the plans said they had been led to believe that they would be consulted about a possible second option for the re-location of the schools.

Campaigners lobbied the meeting at county hall in Llandrindod Wells.

'Talk to parents'

Councillors agreed to withdraw naming Glanrhyd as the preferred option for building the two new schools.

Councillors also agreed to look at several other options and to liaise with the community before a decision was made.

The decision was welcomed by Tom Addey, chair of governors at Cwmtwrch school, who said: "The decision does offer a little bit of an option.

"We can now look at various options in the area that haven't been looked at.

"We have got to go back and talk to the parents. It's going to have a massive effect on the community."

In a separate development, councillors also voted to consider setting up new Welsh and English-medium schools at Llanrhaeadr ym Mochnant in the north of the county.

That decision has angered parents in the nearby village of Pen y Bont Fawr, who fear their village school will close if this goes ahead.