A NEWPORT school is celebrating after it was ranked the best school in the city in a new league table.

Duffryn High School was the best performing school in Newport according to “value added score” data released by the Assembly Government under the Freedom of Information Act.

A school’s value added score measures the progress pupils make between starting secondary school at the age of 11 finishing it at the age of 16.

It is calculated by looking at the difference between a pupil’s predicted grades at the age of 11, and their actual performance at GCSE.

A school with a positive value added score indicates pupils have done better than expected, while a school with a negative score has done worse than expected.

Duffryn High School had the highest positive score in Newport at 9.54 – well above the local authority average on -0.11.

Duffryn was also ranked 30th in a list of Wales’ 222 secondary schools – something head teacher Jon Wilson put down to the staff’s dedication to improvement.

He said: “We are delighted because it shows we are doing really well.

“We have dedicated teaching staff here that regard anybody who comes through the gates as somebody who has talent and can achieve, regardless of their background. Failure is not an option here in Duffryn.”

Mr Wilson, who has been head at the school for seven years, said teachers were constantly reviewing how departmental performance, and every effort is made to build confidence in their students.

But he added that the school was not complacent, and would strive for further improvement.

He said: “We are very open and willing to learn and improve. If there’s an area we’re doing well in we celebrate that, but if it’s an area where we are not we won’t hide it.

“We would never sit on our laurels.”

  • The top five performing schools in Gwent, according the data, were Ebbw Vale Comprehensive, Glyncoed Comprehensive, Newbridge School, Oakdale Comprehensive and Croesyceiliog School. Duffryn was sixth out of the Gwent schools.