Parents have protested against proposed closures

Denbighshire Council abandoned plans to shut 14 schools several months ago following protests by parents.

But following a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, it agreed a new consultation exercise on the future of the county's schools would be set up.

A leading council official said parents needed to be realistic about the fact that some schools may be closed.

It is expected the consultation period will last at least a year before any decisions are made.

We have more places than we actually need in terms of the children on the ground, so I can't say that schools won't close Huw Griffiths, Denbighshire council

The proposed closures, which were to have taken place over three years, caused uproar among many parents when they were announced in February, but the council later shelved those plans.

Some parents have said they are still concerned that schools might have to close.

Parents had claimed that shutting the 14 rural schools would have devastated communities.

'One-to-one teaching'

Elfed Lloyd, whose children attend Ysgol Rhewl, near Ruthin, one of those threatened with closure, said the school was offering "fantastic education".

He added: "The numbers over the last two years have risen up to 44 to 45 - from that alone, I think it shows the school is a valued part of the community and children in the area are definitely using the school."

Since the proposals to shut 14 schools were withdrawn, a forum of parents, governors and teachers from schools across the county has been set up and has held regular meetings with the council.

Forum member Paul Anyon said they were considering radical ways to make the village schools more viable.

"One of the possible suggestions, and it was a bit controversial, was that possibly we could bus in children from the bigger towns into the smaller schools, in the same way they suggested our school children should move into the towns from the villages," he said.

"It would mean that the smaller schools stay open because they have more children and the bigger schools have less children so they would have more one-to-one teaching capacity."

Ahead of Tuesday's meeting in Ruthin, the county's director of lifelong learning, Huw Griffiths, said some schools could close.

"Let's be realistic - we have more places than we actually need in terms of the children on the ground, so I can't say that schools won't close - of course they will," he said.

"We will now go through a process of full consultation, people will be well aware of the pros and cons and they will see where the decision will come from."