AN education watchdog has raised “significant concerns” over the performance of secondary schools in Wrexham.

Estyn has demanded urgent action to improve pupils’ achievements at GCSE level after carrying out a review of education in the county during October.

Officials said high schools in Wrexham do not compare well to others in Wales and highlighted concerns over the behaviour and attendance of youngsters.

The report comes just over a week after Ysgol Clywedog, originally created as one of two “super schools”, was put into special measures.

Meanwhile, the local authority’s head of education Ian Roberts announced he would be stepping down shortly before it was published.

The assessment of secondary schools stands in stark contrast to primary schools, which are said to be doing well.

In their report, the inspectors said: “Overall, pupils make good progress in primary schools but, in a majority of secondary schools, pupils’ education outcomes are well below those of their counterparts nationally.

“Over time, inspection judgements in secondary schools in Wrexham do not compare well with those of secondary schools across Wales.

“Despite strengths in education services, actions to bring about improvement have had limited impact on the outcomes for secondary pupils.

“The implications of weak outcomes in secondary schools in Wrexham are significant for young people’s wellbeing and their future education, training and employment.

“The legacy of ineffective intervention and support over many years has resulted in only limited improvement in many secondary schools.

“The scale of the challenge to improve outcomes in secondary schools means that Wrexham is an authority that is causing significant concern.”

Despite the criticism, Estyn said there was “a clear political and officer commitment” to improve the performance of schools in Wrexham.

The council’s current approach to the challenges faced has been described as “broadly appropriate”.

Inspectors have highlighted four key areas for improvement in their recommendations, including outcomes for pupils at key stage four, attendance rates and behaviour, wellbeing and self-evaluation.

The authority’s chief executive Ian Bancroft said it was ready to address the concerns raised.

He said: “The inspection judgement is mainly focused around our performance at key stage four and GCSE results.

“As we haven’t yet translated those improvements at key stage three into GCSE results, the inspection judgement finds that we’re a serious cause for concern.

“We’ll continue to work with secondary schools and governing bodies to make sure those improvements happen.

“We’ll strengthen our leadership of education services and will continue to make sure we protect school budgets and invest in education.”

The council has now been asked by Estyn to show how it is going to address the recommendations.

Inspectors will review the authority’s progress on a regular basis with a monitoring visit set to be carried out in around two years’ time.