An extraordinary meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council is to be held to discuss a major shake-up of secondary and Welsh-medium education in Pembrokeshire - involving the potential closure of several county schools.

The meeting will be held at County Hall on Thursday, 29th January, commencing at 9am.

The review was launched at the beginning of last year with preliminary consultations on the future of secondary education in the Haverfordwest area and the future of education in the St Davids area.

A preliminary consultation was also launched on Welsh medium education in Pembrokeshire in the autumn.

All consultations presented multiple options on the way forward and included public meetings across the County.

Following 'a rigorous appraisal process of the responses to the consultations', a preferred option has been recommended by the Director for Children and Schools, Kate Evan-Hughes.

The preferred option is:

• Discontinue Sir Thomas Picton School and Tasker Milward VC School and establish a new 11-16 English medium secondary school with additional ALN (alternative learning needs) provision for pupils with complex learning needs, on the site of the current Sir Thomas Picton school.

Post 16 provision to be provided in a new integrated sixth form centre as part of a formal collaboration between the County Council and Pembrokeshire College, subject to formal governance arrangements being agreed.

• Discontinue Ysgol Bro Gwaun and Ysgol Dewi Sant schools and establish a new 11-16 English medium (with significant use of Welsh) secondary school with ALN provision for pupils with complex learning needs on the site of the current Ysgol Bro Gwaun school.

Post 16 provision to be provided in a new integrated sixth form centre as part of a formal collaboration between the County Council and Pembrokeshire College, subject to formal governance arrangements being agreed.

• Discontinue Ysgol Gymraeg Glan Cleddau and establish a new 3-16 Welsh medium/ bilingual school on the site of the current Tasker Milward VC School. Post 16 provision to be provided at Ysgol y Preseli.

The preferred option will be presented in a detailed report to Councillors.

They will be recommended to approve a statutory eight-week consultation with a wide range of stakeholders on the proposals.

The Director’s report says that this option represents a sound strategy for the future and provides an assurance of improved sustainability of provision whilst laying the foundations for improved standards.

It adds that the availability of capital funding from the Council’s 21st Century Schools Programme presents an unique opportunity to change the county’s secondary school infrastructure and configuration for future generations.

It also says the preferred option is predicated on the need to improve education standards, remove costly surplus places in a number of secondary schools, and respond effectively to new funding arrangements for post-16 provision.

This is the second phase of the three-part consultation on the review of education in Mid and North West Pembrokeshire and Welsh-medium education in the County.

The process consists of: preliminary consultation on multiple options, statutory consultation on the preferred option; and finally the publication of a statutory notice which outlines the Council’s decision.

• The Director’s report can be viewed on the County Council’s website: www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk by clicking on ‘Meetings and Agendas’ on the home page (under the heading ‘Your Council’) and then Council Meetings/ Extraordinary Council/ 29th January 2015.