Newport High School taken out of Estyn special measures

A team from Welsh inspection agency Estyn agreed the secondary school had made improvements since its last full inspection in 2017.

Headteacher Gill Lee praised the "achievement by the whole school community" and vowed Newport High was "determined to get better and better".

The inspectors' decision means there are now no schools in Newport in special measures.

In 2017, when Newport High was last inspected, Estyn said standards and leadership at the school were "unsatisfactory" and required "urgent improvement".

In three other inspection areas - attitudes to learning, teaching, and support - the school's performance that year was "adequate and needs improvement".

Following the monitoring visit in March this year, inspectors were much happier with what they found.

They said Newport High had raised standards, and "the majority of pupils generally make sound progress in their knowledge, understanding and skills".

Pupils at Newport High School. (Image: via Newport City Council)

The school had also "introduced and used a range of appropriate strategies to improve the effectiveness of teaching and assessment".

Pupils "now benefit from a wider range of worthwhile opportunities to develop their literacy skills" and the school is "beginning to develop a more coherent approach to developing numeracy skills".

The school is strengthening its provision for pupils with additional learning needs, and Newport High's leadership has made "suitable improvements in some important aspects of the school’s work, including the quality of teaching and assessment".

Newport City Council leader Jane Mudd said the school's removal from special measures was "testament to the hard work and dedication of the head teacher, staff and governing body."

"I’m delighted to see that Estyn has recognised the great strides made by the school and I’m sure that will continue," she added. "Congratulations to all concerned."

Deb Davies, the city council’s cabinet member for education, said Estyn's decision was "excellent news" and she thanked the headteacher, staff and governing body at Newport High for "their determination to raise standards for the benefit of all pupils".

She added: "Newport now has no schools in special measures and the council will continue to support its schools to continually improve to ensure children in the city receive the best possible education."

Councillor James Clarke, chairman of the school's governing body, said: "As governors, we have been closely working with the headteacher and ensuring that we are working as a team in the best interests of the school.

"The headteacher and staff have done a great job to get the school out of special measures and together we will make sure the school continues its improvement journey."