The Headteacher and the Chair of Governors were bursting with pride when I called at Newtown High School yesterday. Not 'pride' in one of the deadly sins sort of way. Just the pride that envelopes people when they know that they have done a very good job. They were armed with the latest full report from Estyn, Wales' School Inspectorate. Its being made public today, and will be probably be reported on in the County Times, our local weekly newspaper. I hope the report is given a bit of a splash.
When the last full inspection was carried out, Newtown High school was placed in 'serious weaknesses' category. There were several very negative reports in the local press. Some parents wanted to move their children to other schools. There has been a transformation. Today the school has received a 'glowing ' report - littered with comments like 'good school', 'several outstanding features', 'significant increase in standards and exam results', 'the school cares for and guides its pupils', 'clear focus on teaching students vital skills', 'outstanding leadership and management, school self evaluation and professional development'. And plenty more.
The Headteacher is Judith Pryce, and the Chair of Governors is David Lush. They have every reason to be bursting with pride. And the rest of us have every reason to congratulate them on what they have achieved.
2 comments:
Good news in the region for once. Lets celebrate this turnaround.
We are good at talking the region down but there isn't enough patting people on the back.
Pity Powys made the decision to close the school on the day it should be celebrating.
Caws - I really did think it was an odd decision to close the schools yesterday - on the basis of a weather forecast. In most of Montgomeryshire I don't think it snowed until late afternoon, and not much then. Bu I'm not going to criticise - I wasn't in Douglas Wilson's shoes, with all the info he had, when he took the decision.
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