WREXHAM Council has been accused of letting down children following a damning review of the county’s education system.

It comes after inspection body Estyn raised “significant concerns” over the performance of secondary schools in a report published last week.

Officials said high schools in the area did not compare well to others in Wales and voiced concerns over the behaviour of pupils, as well as attendance levels.

Their findings were shared shortly after Ysgol Clywedog, originally created as one of two “super schools”, was put into special measures.

Wrexham’s Assembly Member Lesley Griffiths has now slammed the council’s handling of education and called for urgent action to be taken.

In a post on Facebook, the Labour politician said: “For far too long students in Wrexham’s secondary schools in particular have been let down by the local authority.

“I have raised my concerns with Wrexham Council countless times since I was elected but the Tory / independent councillors in charge have never got to grips with the situation.

“As the report highlights, action to bring about change has been too slow.

“It underlines some of the improvements made since 2017 when the new education officer was appointed but with his impending retirement, I am concerned the department will be adversely affected yet again.

“The ruling administration has been asleep at the wheel and their lack of ambition and aspiration for our young people is inexcusable.”

The Leader:

Wrexham AM Lesley Griffiths. Source: Welsh Government

Since the report was published, there has been a dispute over who is responsible for the state of Wrexham’s education system.

Over the weekend the town’s new Conservative MP Sarah Atherton placed the blame at the door of the Labour-run Welsh Government.

But Ms Griffiths claimed the Cardiff administration had given the council an “above average” education budget, as well as investing millions in modernising school buildings.

Cllr Phil Wynn, Wrexham Council’s lead member for education, said he understood her concerns and pledged to tackle the issues raised.

The independent councillor said: “As our chief executive Ian Bancroft has already stated, we are on a journey of improvement in respect of our education services, and we are confident that those improvements already seen at key stage 3 will translate to similar improvements at key stage 4/GCSE level.

“From when I took up my post in June 2017, the chief officer for education and I have always taken the pragmatic view that the sustained improvement of all pupils, from foundation phase through to key stage 4, was likely to take the full term of the current council.

“That view has not changed for me, and I shall work alongside the chief officer’s successor in completing those improvements we have already made to education, with a view to its permanent improvement.

“We understand that there are key issues to solve, including reducing exclusions and improving behaviour, and assisting our teaching staff, heads and governors in sustainably improving the chances of all school leavers.

“I understand the AM’s frustrations over the Estyn judgement, and will contact her to discuss the matter further.”