A PRIMARY school is celebrating top marks from a watchdog which places it amongst the best in Wales.

Ewloe Green CP school received an ‘excellent’ judgement in all five of the Estyn inspection area categories - which include standards, wellbeing and attitudes to learning, teaching and learning experiences, care, support and guidance as well as leadership and management.

Ruth Dyas, headteacher, said she was delighted with the result, and having looked into Estyn’s figures she discovered Ewloe Green CP was in the top 2.5 per cent of all Welsh schools to receive ‘excellent’ in all key inspection areas over the last six years.

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The report explains: “The school provides an extremely happy and caring learning environment, which supports pupils’ personal development exceptionally well.

“Nearly all pupils make good, and often very good, progress as they move through the school.

“Pupils’ communication skills are particularly strong, and they apply their literacy, numeracy and information technology skills effectively in an exceptionally rich range of contexts.

“They work hard and complete learning tasks to a very high standard.”

Mrs Dyas, who has been headteacher at the school for 14 years, added: “It manifests the magnificent sustained commitment to high standards and the energy and dedication of all stakeholders.

“Our children are a credit to the school. Clearly the report shows how much they love learning and the opportunities provided for them at Ewloe Green.”

She said a special celebration will be held for the pupils on Friday.

The report states Ewloe Green CP School benefits from “strong and effective leadership”.

It goes on to explain: “The headteacher has developed a very supportive and hardworking team of staff who show commitment to the school and its pupils.

“The strong focus on professional learning reflects the high priority the school places on developing the skills of all staff.

“They are prepared to embrace new initiatives and changes to the way they work purposefully, and work effectively together to develop the school further as a thriving learning community.”

The report describes the behaviour of pupils across the schools as ‘exemplary’.

It also states the school offers ‘exceptional opportunities’ for pupils to develop their confidence and resilience.

Mark Morgan, chair of governors at the school, praised all involved in the success.

He said: “The governing body is absolutely delighted with the success of the school in achieving an unprecedented ‘excellent’ grading across all Estyn inspection categories.

“The report rightly reflects the outstanding contribution of all staff and volunteers which in turn creates an excellent learning environment for the children, which can only bode well for their future.”

The report makes two recommendations for the school - to improve the Welsh speaking skills of key stage two pupils and to improve opportunities for younger pupils to make choices about their learning.