The green Preseli mountains that overlook the village of Crymych give their name to its secondary school, which serves a vast rural catchment with some pupils travelling more than an hour to get there. And it's now also the name of the most highly-ranked state secondary school in Wales.
A-level and GCSE grades achieved by last year's exam-year pupils from Ysgol Bro Preseli in Pembrokeshire catapulted the school into the envied position of the top state secondary school in Wales, according to the Sunday Times Parent Power ratings, and the 105th best in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The guide identifies the highest-achieving schools in the UK and describes itself as the "definitive guide to secondary schools". More than 1,600 schools from Wales, England and Northern Ireland are listed in the guide, which you can read in-full on The Times' website here.
Read more: Sunday Times Guide reveals the best secondary schools in Wales
Bro Preseli's headteacher Rhonwen Morris credits the school's success to great teamwork between members of staff, parents, pupils and the community, extensive pastoral support - and treating every pupil "like a member of the family".
But she says there's much more to their school than just strong sets of exam results; with emphasis on progress, being part of the community and looking after one's mental health all prioritised.
The top state schools in Wales
Mrs Morris said finding out the school had been placed first in Wales was "absolutely fantastic news". We knew our pupils in the summer cohort had done extremely well - we're renowned for our academic achievements," she said. "But we had no idea where we would be on the overall rankings. It's great to see staff's hard work acknowledged!"
Ysgol Bro Preseli was established in April, 2022 through the amalgamation of two local schools and predominantly serves pupils living in small towns and villages in north Pembrokeshire. Some travel for more than an hour to get to school, Mrs Morris told WalesOnline, so one of the biggest priorities for teaching and non-teaching staff at the school has always been forming a strong school community where everyone is respected and treated as an individual.
Mrs Morris credits this ethos to much of pupils' academic success. "When pupils come in, they feel part of the community," she told WalesOnline. "So many of our pupils come back here to teach. We're a lead school for Initial Teacher Education, formerly known as teacher training, it's really important to us. We want to promote teaching in Pembrokeshire, it's a great place to teach!"
The school, which currently has 925 pupils (827 of which are in the secondary school section), puts real emphasis on "lifelong learning" and looking after one's mental health, Mrs Morris added. As well as classrooms and labs for school pupils, the school campus also has community learning and adult learning facilities available. There's also a variety of school clubs and societies, including "meddyliau melyn" (happy/yellow thoughts), a club run by Sixth Formers offering a safe space for people to talk about their mental health and get support.
'Every single child counts'
Deputy headteacher at the school, Catrin Thomas said one of the things that's most special about Ysgol Bro Preseli is the ethos that "every single child counts". Whilst many schools do focus on getting to know pupils as individuals, staff at Ysgol Bro Preseli go above and beyond to make sure that "no child is forgotten or slips through the net," she said.
"It's a core principle and value for us, it [every single child counts] is truly believed by every single member of staff and every member of the school community. It's a very high level of attention that individuals get."
Assistant head, Owen Thomas added: "Not all our pupils will be A/A* students - we need to celebrate every child's achievement. For some, getting a D or an E is a great achievement, so we need to mark that. We also look at how much progress a child is making [it's just as important as achieving]."
'Wellbeing is just as important as academics'
Wellbeing is at the "forefront" of daily life at the school, Mr Thomas, whose job role also includes responsibility for "whole school wellbeing" continued. The school is proud to have an Equality and Diversity Society championing diversity across the school, as well as various wellbeing groups and a charity committee. Plus, pupils in Year 7 are invited to fill in a detailed survey on their daily experiences and attitudes to different scenarios - the results of which are sent off to experts at Harvard University in America, who analyse the data and give the school a run-through of particular issues or challenges affecting the pupils that can then be addressed by staff at the school.
"It's a professional environment but there's a familiar feel at the school and everybody is respected and valued as an individual," added senior lead and head of sixth form, Nia Williams.
"We want pupils to feel like part of the family, it's absolutely part of our ethos," added Mrs Morris. "No matter whether a pupil is from a town, a village or a farm in the middle of nowhere - we want them all to feel part of the school family, that includes their parents, guardians and the wider community in Crymych."
With this in mind, the school is open until 10pm each day offering clubs, societies and a range of opportunities for the community from adult learning sessions, to the Young Farmers' Club to projects at the on-campus community theatre.
Learning from home in a rural area amid the Cost of Living Crisis
As we all know, the pandemic brought challenge after challenge to families across Wales - and many parents of school-aged children have spoken-out of the difficulty in assisting their children's learning from home, while juggling the lockdowns and, often, full-time work.
But the challenges of working and learning from home were further exacerbated by school pupils' location. Many live in very remote areas so struggled with poor WiFi, Mrs Morris said, which made it difficult for some work to be done at home. But teachers pushed through these challenges - and with the support of parents, guardians and pupils themselves - were able to keep the learning going.
Plus, teachers are doing everything they can to listen to pupils who are concerned about the Cost of Living Crisis.
Assistant head Owen Thomas says staff at the school are acutely aware of the challenges facing many families amid the Cost of Living Crisis. The school aims to support every child through the challenges and difficulties they experience, and has its own youth worker and pastoral care centre to help pupils talk through their worries and concerns.
'Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork'
Asked what the secret is to running a top-ranked school, headteacher Mrs Morris humbly replied: "teamwork."
"Pupils succeed at this school because they have a team around them: senior leaders, middle leaders like heads of departments, the pastoral team and support team, they deserve all the praise," she said. "The amount of support the support team offers to make sure pupils [that are struggling for various reasons] can actually sit exams, for example, is nothing short of miraculous. It's an ongoing team effort throughout the academic year."
READ MORE
- Martin Lewis says ‘huge payment shock’ coming for everyone with a mortgage
- Ysgol Y Deri special school re-opens without hot water as legionella bacteria found during testing
- Protesters gather as Welsh Government taken to court over compulsory sex education
- When teachers in Wales could go on strike if they vote for industrial action
- Parents struggling to send children to school due to soaring costs, new report finds
