AN ABERGELE infants’ school has become the first in Wales to win an award in a prestigious education competition.
Ysgol Glan Gele beat off schools across Britain to win the leadership category in the Times Education Supplement (TES) Schools Awards in London and put the school on the national map.
The achievement is being hailed as a particular achievement as the category contained all types of schools and recognised the work senior staff have done to make Ysgol Glan Gele such a vibrant place to work.
Julia Buckley Jones, headteacher for the past three years, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won this. We never expected to win and had no idea we had done until they announced it was us.
“When they said we were the first school in Wales to win a TES award that made it even more special. There were all other types of schools such as academies in the category and it is so pleasing that we have won this.
“This is not just an honour for the school, it is for Abergele and Conwy as a whole. We are so proud at what we have achieved.”
Mrs Buckley Jones is joined in her all-female leadership team by her deputy Kate Carroll, assistant heads Laura Martin and Allison James and special needs co-ordinator Zoe Cope.
The team works in tandem with the school’s governing body to bring a strategic direction to the school and allow it to realise its true potential.
“I have a fantastic team of staff working with me on the leadership team,” added Mrs Buckley Jones. “I believe all of them will go on to be headteachers as well and we are lucky to have such an excellent board of governors.
“The word they kept saying about us is “buzzy” and it is a credit to everyone here for helping us achieve this award.”
Pupils have been given the chance to see the school’s newly won trophy during school assembly, as the Foundation Phase school basks in the glory of being described as “brimming with excitement” and “the kind of place where you would like to work” by judges.
Hosted by comedian Alexander Armstrong, the TES awards are in their second year and contain 15 categories. Ysgol Glan Gele was one of six finalists in the leadership category.
The award follows Glan Gele staff member Eleri Parry claiming a distinction prize in the teaching assistant of the year category in this year’s Teaching Awards for Wales earlier this month.