Adam Price

Why close this College which has given Careers to so many people over the years would be another blow to Ammanford and the valleys

It’s absolutely ridiculous that this has even been considered, SEN students come to this setting after their school life and feel safe!!

I grew up in the Ammanford area and for a large portion of the community this was the only option for further education after school. If this is lost it will be a massive blow to all who live in and around Ammanford.

This is an absolute disgrace to remove the learning opportunities in such a remote area!


Whoever made this decision without any local alternative or/and consultation? Feel very ashamed😡😡😡

Five years ago, I walked into Coleg Sir Gar, Ammanford, to enrol on a plastering level 2 course. As a 35 year old woman with a mortgage and bills to pay, taking on an apprenticeship was a huge risk. My lecturers were supportive from the start. Living on the border of NPT, in Carmarthenshire, I had a ten minute drive to college; my placement was in Pembrokeshire. If I’d had to drive to Carmarthen daily, I wouldn’t have been able to afford to attend. The few occasions I had to get the bus, I was either over an hour late or didn’t get there at all as the bus service in this area is unreliable and abysmal. The young lads on the course had to figure out ways of getting from rural areas to placements, often having to rope in parents or friends to get them there. We live in a community with so few facilities and opportunities for young people, that this move is a huge blow to anyone wanting to get out of the valley and make something of themselves. For the students with learning disabilities and difficulties who were able to travel a short distance and remain within familiar communities, this is an unfair challenge. For mature students, with families, this presents an additional hurdle, both in time and finance. The Welsh government has just enforced a 20mph speed limit across the country to promote active transport and participation in local community facilities and in the next breath they move a huge education provision an unachievable distance from this community. For those living in the rural and mountain villages around Ammanford, where a few mile journey takes far longer than the anticipated time, this is yet another barrier to education. For a government focused on emissions and achievement targets, this move marks a remarkable backstep on both counts. It’s an unforgiveable blow to this generation of youngsters.

Despite having been well educated before switching careers, if it hadn’t been for Mike Williams and Bryan Jenkins at CSG, as well as the wonderful Liz in the library, I wouldn’t have achieved awards for my plastering, I wouldn’t have just completed my MSc in Building Conservation with a distinction and I wouldn’t be about to embark on a PhD in critical heritage. College is about so much more than what you’re there for, and to get rid of this one is a crime.