Two Welsh medium schools named the best in Wales
A Welsh medium school in north Pembrokeshire has been named the best state secondary school in Wales by the Times newspaper.
Ysgol Bro Preseli, Crymych is the best in the country, according to the guide, with another Welsh medium school – Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Myrddin, Carmarthen – in second place.
The Times’ guide, named ‘Parent Power’, identifies the highest-achieving schools in the UK and this year’s edition used the first post-pandemic set of results for state and independent schools since the pandemic.
The schools are ranked by the percentage of examination entries gaining A*-B at A-level (which is given double weighting) and the percentage of entries returning A* and A grades, and those graded 9, 8 and 7, at GCSE and iGCSE.
The full list of best state schools in Wales is:
- Ysgol Bro Preseli, Crymych
- Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Myrddin, Carmarthen
- Cowbridge Comprehensive School
- Y Pant Comprehensive School, Pontyclun
- Radyr Comprehensive School, Cardiff
- Olchfa School, Swansea
- Ysgol Eirias, Colwyn Bay
- Crickhowell High School
- Bishop Vaughan Catholic School, Swansea
- Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr, Cardiff
““We expect the highest possible standards from our pupils and we will do our utmost to give them every opportunity to succeed,” Rhonwen Morris, the head teacher at Ysgol Bro Preseli, told the newspaper.
““Families have faced so many challenges over the past two years and therefore the school made an active effort to ensure that pupils’ wellbeing extended beyond the classroom and the school campus.
“Pupil progress was tracked carefully and any pupils who were falling behind were invited to spend time in the school hub, where they could get the support they needed. The school was open daily for those who struggled to engage with the lessons.”
The top 10 state secondary schools chosen across the UK were all in England, with The Henrietta Barnett School, Hampstead clinching the top spot.
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I wonder why it’s ALWAYS the schools in the richest areas that make the tops of these lists… Probably a coincidence and has nothing to do with funding allocation, opportunity, parents’ wealth or anything like that. These schools (where the more wealthy people are) just had the idea to “expect the highest possible standards from our pupils and we will do our utmost to give them every opportunity to succeed,” which literally no school in a less economically prosperous area has ever tried to do, who are instead, content to throw chicken nuggets and copies Woman’s Weekly at the collection… Read more »
I can assure you Cathy, that Ysgol Y Preseli in north-east Pembrokeshire lies in – as does its wider catchment area – anything BUT a rich area of Wales. I know, I live here. When we were still in the European Union, this part of Wales always qualified for Objective One EU funding. I seem to remember that in order for a region to qualify for such funding, its GDP needed to be 75% per cent or less than the average GDP in the EU. Many of the other areas that qualified tended to be in Eastern Europe, such as… Read more »
Yeah but welshie are crachar and everything is class warfare, though. Or is that this sort of view is outmoded, outdated and a leading contributor to social degradation? Victim hood turned inwards at ourselves, Anglo-European philosophies that only hurt Cymru
Where on earth do you live ? To harbour the illusion that Bro Preseli is a “rich area” is nuts. It has a wealth of history, culture, heritage, even language, things that underpin our native identity. However the regional economy is at best fragile, a living example of modest properties being priced beyond the reach of today’s youth who have to eke out some sort of living on the usual mix of seasonal jobs, low wages, or move away to just about make ends meet. A region under threat from the influx of money “from away” who don’t give a… Read more »
I see that Drakeford is not a one for the education via the Welsh language as it may upset certain voters. I think that a successful school has a strong backup from the parents. I also thinks that the school governors should be proactive too and independent of political influences. Our Welsh tongue, our history and future lies with our children.
Judging schools purely on exam results is wrong on so many levels. What are the start points for the pupils? How do the young people themselves rate the school? What measures are in place for health and well-being? Genuine acquisition of life skills? It’s time we reassessed what we are preparing young people for. We need to listen to what the students say. #Icanrecitethequadraticformula
Listen to Izzy on Tik Tok…
So where does that leave the county wide Welsh medium schools policies of Gwynedd and Môn? Something must be going very wrong there…. County council Klingons? Estyn? Governors? Headteachers? Teachers? Teaching assistants? Canteen staff? Caretakers? One or more have to step up to the gallows surely. Pretty sure it wont be sny of the the former most listed.
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Crachach rules OK. Crachach dunna like it known though.
And most of the poorly performing one’s are also Welsh medium. There are dozens of variables that influence a schools performance. The most useful being excluding problematic pupils by offloading them to better understanding schools close by. Stop trying to suggest language alone dictates achievement.