Shannon lives half a mile nearer Llanidloes than Llandinam

Parents of pupils at Llandinam School are angry at Powys Council's decision to only give seven-year-old Shannon Sale free transport if she goes to Llanidloes Primary School which is half a mile closer to her home.

Shannon's mother, Sue Davis, does not have a car to take her daughter to school and is having to rely on a lift from other parents for her daughter.

She has been told by the council that Shannon cannot get free transport to Llandinam because Llanidloes school is 3.93 miles from her Oakley Park home compared to 4.47 miles to Llandinam.

I don't want Shannon to travel on the back roads because it is a narrow and dangerous road. Sue Davis, parent

But it is claimed the distance to Llanidloes is only shorter because the route calculated by the local authority is along a back road.

Shannon started at Llandinam school on 10 June after moving to live with her mother from her father's home in south Wales.

New friends

"I don't want Shannon to travel on the back lanes because it is a narrow and dangerous road," said Mrs Davis, who is expecting a baby in eight weeks .

"I am determined to keep my daughter at Llandinam because Shannon has made new friends there.

"I can't take her to school or pick her up because my partner leaves for work at 7.30 every morning and doesn't come back until 6.30 at night."

The council has already angered parents because Llandinam school, with about 35 pupils, has been targeted for possible closure in a county wide review of schools.

"The distance along the main road to Llanidloes is 4.8 miles which means that Llandinam is the nearest school to Shannon's home along the main road," said Myra Jones, the chair of Llandinam's parent teacher association.

The placard near the school expresses local feeling

Mrs Jones, is currently giving Shannon a lift to school every day.

A council spokesman said that to qualify for primary school transport, pupils must live two or more miles from the nearest, measured by the shortest walking distance.

"The authority normally provides free transport for qualifying pupils to their nearest school," said the spokesman.

"Should parents express a preference for a more distant school then they are required to make their own transport arrangements."

Parents are also preparing for a meeting with the council's education director, Mike Barker, on 10 July.

Placard

The meeting will form part of the council's consultation on the review of schools in the county over the next 10 years.

The root and branch changes includes the possible closure of Llandinam, with pupils transferring to Llanidloes, which already has more than 420 on its roll.

Parents and governors have already started campaigning by placing a prominent placard against any possible closure outside the school.

"The placard has got a lot of attention and a petition at the local shop is being signed by a lot of people passing through," said head teacher, Simon Newson.