Plans To Change Wrexham’s Super Schools Scrapped

Proposals to merge Wrexham’s two super schools to create a ‘through school’ for children aged between 3-16 have been scrapped.

In December plans to ‘review’ and ‘potentially make significant changes’ at Ysgol Clywedog and Ysgol Rhosnesni were announced.

However in a recommendation due to go before the Executive Board next week it states: “That Executive Board agrees that the most appropriate way to improve the aspirations, learning and achievement of young people in the town centre in the short-term is to continue to support and challenge Ysgol Clywedog and Ysgol Rhosnesni High School to improve as two community focused 11-16 comprehensive schools.”

Last year both Ysgol Clywedog and Ysgol Rhosnesni were placed under special measures by Estyn – Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales. The two schools were placed under special measures as their performance and their prospects for improvement were seen as ‘unsatisfactory’, with academic results at both schools showing ‘limited improvement’ in Summer 2013 compared to the previous year.

In the Executive Boards’s report it notes that: “Applications for places at both schools are falling, with a number of children and families for whom these schools would be the closest option choosing to travel to schools that are further afield.”

The plans included three potential options for Ysgol Rhosnesni and Ysgol Clywedog, including creating two ‘through schools’ that would provide primary school provision at both sites. Along with this it was proposed a single ‘through school’ was created, teaching children of primary and high school ages across the two sites.

The third option was to ‘Support and Challenge existing schools’, which would mean that the two schools would remains as two community focused secondary schools, but would be ‘supported and challenged’ to improve their current status. This option would allow the two schools to focus on their specific action plans to address the recommendations made by Estyn and would create the least amount of disruption for learners in the short-term.

However a consultation with the public, governors, school staff and parents concluded that the focus should be on supporting both schools and helping them improve.

The Council also received around 50 letters and emails from local individuals and groups regarding the proposed options for the two schools. Within the report it notes that: “The key message arising is consistent with the other consultation responses received – strong support for supporting and challenging the schools to improve in their current format.”

Concerns were also raised over the timing of the consultation and whether the focus was on the through school concept or more specifically on how to best improve standards at both schools.

The full PDF report can be viewed on the Council website here.

(Note: We are unable to provide Councillors ‘take’ and comments on this report as we were left off the invite to the Executive Board’s Media Briefing)