Children ask County Council for the "best Christmas gift"

At around 10.30am tomorrow (Tuesday 23/12/25), children and parents from Llansteffan Primary School will go to Carmarthenshire County Hall to present Christmas cards and ask for “the best Christmas present ever” - namely, certainty about the future of their school. Other members of the local community and members of Cymdeithas yr Iaith will join them to show their support and to listen to them singing carols.

Tomorrow is the last day for sending in objections to Carmarthenshire County Council's Statutory Notice to close Ysgol Llansteffan next summer. Cymdeithas yr Iaith have called on people to support the local community by sending in objections by tomorrow to MEPConsultations@sirgar.gov.uk.

On behalf of the Carmarthenshire Region of Cymdeithas yr Iaith, Ffred Ffransis explained:

“What is sad about the Council’s intention to close the school is that pupil numbers are rising again - as shown by the County Council’s own figures - and that parents and governors have exciting plans to develop the school. Their wish is to use the school’s large hall, and its location by the beach, to develop Environmental Studies and Outdoor Education courses by studying the coastline, the forest and the nearby castle.

“The school could be an important educational resource for the local federation of schools, and indeed a centre for enriching the education of all the county’s children. It could also be a source of additional income by hiring out the site during weekends and school holidays.”

He added:

“This should now be a time for energetic and serious discussions between Council officers and the parents and governors to develop a viable business plan. The school is the Welsh-language centre of the village, and we cannot afford to lose any more of our rural Welsh-speaking communities. This is exactly the kind of development that is needed to integrate schools socially and economically into the life of local communities.”