CHEPSTOW School will move on from a disappointing inspection judgement to become "world-class" within five years, says the new headteacher.

Claire Price had only been in the job a week when inspectors from Estyn arrived in January to put the school under the microscope.

It found performance at Key Stage Three – 11-to-14 years old had been well below that of similar schools for five years with English and maths "weak" while in the GCSE years results rose over three years to be just below average compared with similar schools.

Literacy and numeracy skills were "under-developed" and a few pupils, mainly the brighter, do not make the progress they should.

But the inspectors also highlighted suitable progress made by many pupils, effective teaching in the majority of lessons and the wide range of activities outside the classroom including sport and music.

They said there is now a clear understanding of the school's strengths and specific areas that need to be improved with governors providing a high standard of challenge and support.

The report says Ms Price "has already established a clear sense of direction and identified the significant matters that need to improve first."

The overall judgement was that both current performance and the prospects for improvement were "adequate".

Ms Price said: "While we accept the findings of the inspection much of it is an historical judgement.

"This is a tremendous school with fantastic students and committed teachers.

"This will be a world-class school and our students deserve nothing less."

She said there was already more focus on literacy and numeracy and they were already working more closely with primary schools.

Two new English teachers and a maths teacher have been appointed in the last fortnight.

A new system allowing the performance of each student to be monitored will be fully in place by September.

"This will allow us to see exactly where pupils are in terms of achieving their objectives and will enable us to take action where it is appropriate."

Ms Price said 83 per cent of pupils achieved the benchmark five GCSEs including English and maths at grade A*-C – compared with a Welsh average of about 50 per cent – and 80 per cent got their first-choice university.