Schools will be asked to work together to ensure the future of post-16 education in Ceredigion, with plans for a centre of excellence to replace sixth forms in the county will be put on the back burner for now.

Ceredigion County Council outlined plans to shut county sixth forms and develop a “centre of excellence” to teach A-level pupils instead as part of ways plug a gap in school finances after it became “clear that the post-16 grant from the Welsh Government is not sufficient to sustain post-16 provision in its current form.”

A feasibility study into two options – keeping all six county sixth forms open within a more collaborative model, or shutting sixth forms across the county with one or more “centres of excellence” being developed.

The centre of excellence model was overwhelming rejected by those surveyed during a consultation.

Ceredigion County Council Cabinet members at a meeting on Tuesday, 5 November are recommended to move forward with adopting plans for joint working on sixth forms across the county from September 2026.

They are also recommended to approve “carrying out further investigation to give more detailed consideration to establishing a centre of excellence on one or more suitable sites.”

The move will see a strategic board developed to co-ordinate sixth form provision across the six county secondary schools, but the report into the feasibility study warns that that option alone may not be 'radical' enough a development to deal with underlying problems and would only be a “compromise.”

A report to be put before Cabinet members says: “The six current governing boards would continue with their current roles in terms of governance up to 16 but agree with the local authority to form a strategic board which would manage the authority's post-16 budget, ensure suitable arrangements for joint planning the curriculum and then commissioning the provision from the schools, e-sgol and other partners.

“The strategic board would be supported by an executive board in order to implement the curricular proposals.

“The strategic board would be responsible for monitoring the quality of the provision and making recommendations to the local authority and the providers for improvement.

“Over time, these recommendations could include adjusting the number of sites and what is provided at each site.

“All providers would be represented on both boards, with representation from the local authority and an appropriate place for the voice of the learner and parents.”