Cymdeithas yr Iaith will make a plea to Gwynedd Council to 'listen to local people' at the start of a 70-mile march from Tryweryn to Caernarfon to protest against the closure of Ysgol y Parc near Bala today (Sunday, 11th July).The march will start from Tryweryn Dam at the end of a rally organised by the Ysgol y Parc Defence Committee. Cymdeithas supporters will walk the 70 miles visiting other threatened schools in Gwynedd and Conwy en route. They will march up and down Snowdon on their way to the crucial Council meeting in Caernarfon on Thursday afternoon (15th July) where councillors will vote on the future of Ysgol y Parc.

Speaking ahead of the march, Cymdeithas education spokesperson Ffred Ffransis said:"The people of the Bala area have spoken with one voice. All the other schools and communities have given their support to Parc in an impressive show of unity. There is united support for Parc to be part of a federation of rural schools which will work closely with the new Lifelong Learning School and Centre in Bala to form a strong, efficient, Welsh-medium educational unit which will be rooted in the communities of Penllyn."By acting on the will of the local people, Gwynedd Council can ensure united support for the all-important investment in education in the town of Bala, and the Council should not risk creating divisions by threateneing to close Ysgol y Parc. It is not the business of Gwynedd to pull the plug on a vibrant Welsh-speaking community by taking away the school which has a unique community status."