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Three Powys secondary schools should be shut and the number of sixth-forms in the county cut to just six, according to a report being considered by the authority.

The education review also wants to establish at least one Welsh medium secondary school in the county.

It is understood that the report compiled by Price Waterhouse Cooper would put 97 jobs at risk.

The review will be considered by the council's cabinet on 27 January.

"The review provides us with clear evidence that we need to reduce the number of secondary schools, sixth-forms and change the way we deliver Welsh medium education to make the most of our resources and deliver a service fit for the 21st century," insisted Arwel Jones, who is responsible for education in Powys council's cabinet.

"The findings are not the end of the process but the start of an intensive period of work that aims to provide a secondary school structure that can deliver the very best for learners of Powys."