A SPECIAL needs school is facing closure in its 50th anniversary year, despite 2,300 people signing a petition to save it.

The fate of Mounton House School near Chepstow will be decided at a meeting of Monmouthshire Council’s Cabinet today (Wednesday, September 18), with a report recommending the plug is pulled, despite 88 per cent of public consultation respondents opposing closure.

Monmouthsire Council’s Labour group has labelled the closure plan “outrageous”, while the campaign to save the school has been supported by the likes of Monmouth AM Nick Ramsay, teachers, parents, Chepstow Town Council and residents.

Founded in 1970, Mounton caters for boys aged 11-16 with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties from Monmouthsire and other areas. It will close next August if the decision is confirmed.

The report by the council’s Children and Young People chief officer Will McLean says numbers attending have fallen significantly and the council is facing a £788,000 bill this year to keep the school open.

Mounton currently only has 16 day pupils, down from 42 in 2015, despite a capacity of 58 places, including 42 residential, he added.

Ten Year 8 to 11 pupils will be affected by any closure at the Pwllmeyric site, while six Key Stage 3 youngsters would be placed in “appropriate specialist provision.”

The council’s Pupil Referral Unit will meet the needs of the five Key Stage 4 pupils until they complete their courses.

Set up half a century ago to serve a 600,000-strong Gwent population, it now only caters for Monmouthshire’s 100,000-strong population, he said.

Mr McLean added: “It’s scale and remit are no longer compatible with the needs of Monmouthshire.

“Any decision to close a school is a difficult decision, but in this instance and despite the response to the consultation exercise it is the right option to take at this time.”

Plans to open the school to girls and pupils aged three to 19, were scrapped last year as costs were estimated at a “prohibitive” £6.4m.

The report says the situation has been “unresolved for too long” and that deferring the closure would “prolong uncertainty and not provide clarity to the children, parents and families.”

“The needs of students are becoming increasingly complex;, the provision that is required in Monmouthshire needs to offer greater flexibility and offer the capacity to provide bespoke service design,” adds Mr McLean.

But calling for the plan to be binned, county council Labour leader Cllr Dimitri Batrouni (St Christopher’s) said: “Many of the children educated at Mounton House did not and cannot flourish in a mainstream educational environment.

“Forcing this to happen will only put more pressure on teachers and undermine the learning environment for other pupils in our secondary schools.”