High School praised in report

13/01/2011 @ 11:45

Welshpool has a high school it can be proud of: official!

Following one of the worst weeks in the school’s history which saw flooding cause extensive damage and closure, inspectors have given the high school a glowing inspection report.

The school has been marked as ‘good’ across a range of areas and has been praised for its leadership, quality of teaching, pupils as well as its relationship within the community, despite having the smallest budget per pupil for any of the 13 High Schools in Powys.

It will come as a welcome relief to hard working headteacher Mr Jim Toal and has been praised by Montgomeryshire MP Glyn Davies who described the report as “wonderful reading”.

The report said that the school was a ‘good’ because of:

• the standards achieved by pupils;

• the quality of care, support and guidance is high; and

• the quality of teaching is good.

It also said that the prospects for improvement are good because of the:

• maintenance of overall good standards;

• high commitment to supporting learners’ achievement and well being; and

• commitment to continuous self-evaluation, strategic planning and self-improvement.

However, it says there is always room for improvement and recommended that in order to improve further, the staff and governors of Welshpool High School need to:

• strengthen the role of the senior management team (SMT) and middle managers in the process of self-evaluation and planning for improvement;

• ensure consistency in assessment of and for learning and improve the quality of reports to parents;

• accredit all key skills at the appropriate level to support learners’ progression;

• further develop the Welsh Assembly Government’s priorities with regard to bilingualism

• ensure that pupils are involved in making decisions about their life in school, including their learning; and

• continue to take action to address the budget deficit

Welshpool High School has 1,135 pupils and operates with the lowest budget of the 13 secondary schools in Powys at £3,496. The maximum is £4555.

The full report is available to see by clicking the link below