Pontnewynydd Primary School
Encyclopedia
Pontnewynydd Primary School is located in Pontnewynydd
, Wales
and is situated close to the settlements of Pontnewynydd
, Abersychan
, Trevethin
and Pontypool
. It was opened in 1903 in a large, imposing building which was built in 1901. Its motto
is Only the Best is Good Enough.
The school's catchment area is deprived
and in 2005, 51% of the pupils received free school dinners as compared with the national average of 20%. Upon entry at the age of four years, pupils' abilities are significantly below the average for Wales. 2% of the pupils are from ethnic minority backgrounds but in 2005, 58 of the 180 pupils were on the register of Special Educational Needs.
It was the first school in Wales to achieve the Welsh Assembly Government Basic Skills Quality Standard due to its good educational work which included monitoring of pupils with follow-up remediation of literacy
when needed; engagement with parents and the community; and provision of adult basic skills
.
The school has its own TV studio for use by staff and pupils. The studio enables children to produce, edit, act and develop programmes within a custom-built, high technology environment. The head teacher, Deb Woodward, expects this activity to improve the pupils' language
, literacy
and thinking.
Torfaen LEA was a winner of RM
's National Educational Research Competition,
in December 2008. The competition invited Local Authorities to submit research proposals to develop innovative approaches to support teaching and learning in maths using ICT. Pontnewyndd Primary and Hollybush Primary led the implementation of the research.
When inspected in 2005, 86% of the teaching was found to be of good quality, which is above the national average and an improvement since the previous inspection. The school's grade in a variety of categories was predominantly 2 out of 5, meaning "good features and no important shortcomings". It achieved grade 1 in the following categories:
Pontnewynydd
Pontnewynydd is a predominantly working class suburb of Pontypool, Torfaen in Wales. It should not be confused with Pontnewydd in nearby Cwmbran.- Location :...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and is situated close to the settlements of Pontnewynydd
Pontnewynydd
Pontnewynydd is a predominantly working class suburb of Pontypool, Torfaen in Wales. It should not be confused with Pontnewydd in nearby Cwmbran.- Location :...
, Abersychan
Abersychan
Abersychan is a settlement and community north of Pontypool in Torfaen, Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It has a population of 6,826.It lies in the narrow northern section of the Afon Lwyd valley...
, Trevethin
Trevethin
Trevethin is a community of Pontypool in Torfaen, Wales.-History and amenities:It is a modern suburb, built around a small village in the 1960s and '70s and is all but merged with nearby Penygarn. In 2005 it was announced that the district's local school, Trevethin Community School, was to close....
and Pontypool
Pontypool
Pontypool is a town of approximately 36,000 people in the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales....
. It was opened in 1903 in a large, imposing building which was built in 1901. Its motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
is Only the Best is Good Enough.
The school's catchment area is deprived
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
and in 2005, 51% of the pupils received free school dinners as compared with the national average of 20%. Upon entry at the age of four years, pupils' abilities are significantly below the average for Wales. 2% of the pupils are from ethnic minority backgrounds but in 2005, 58 of the 180 pupils were on the register of Special Educational Needs.
It was the first school in Wales to achieve the Welsh Assembly Government Basic Skills Quality Standard due to its good educational work which included monitoring of pupils with follow-up remediation of literacy
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
when needed; engagement with parents and the community; and provision of adult basic skills
Basic skills
Basic skills can be compared to higher order thinking skills. Facts and methods are highly valued under the back-to-basics approach to education....
.
The school has its own TV studio for use by staff and pupils. The studio enables children to produce, edit, act and develop programmes within a custom-built, high technology environment. The head teacher, Deb Woodward, expects this activity to improve the pupils' language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
, literacy
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
and thinking.
Torfaen LEA was a winner of RM
RM plc
RM plc is a British company specialising in providing products and services to schools, colleges, universities and government education departments & agencies...
's National Educational Research Competition,
in December 2008. The competition invited Local Authorities to submit research proposals to develop innovative approaches to support teaching and learning in maths using ICT. Pontnewyndd Primary and Hollybush Primary led the implementation of the research.
When inspected in 2005, 86% of the teaching was found to be of good quality, which is above the national average and an improvement since the previous inspection. The school's grade in a variety of categories was predominantly 2 out of 5, meaning "good features and no important shortcomings". It achieved grade 1 in the following categories:
- Care, guidance and support for learnersTutorA tutor is a person employed in the education of others, either individually or in groups. To tutor is to perform the functions of a tutor.-Teaching assistance:...
- Personal and social developmentPersonal developmentPersonal development includes activities that improve awareness and identity, develop talents and potential, build human capital and facilitates employability, enhance quality of life and contribute to the realization of dreams and aspirations...
- Design Technology
Notable pupils
- Demi HolbornDemi HolbornDemi Ann-Marie Holborn is a Welsh professional singer who holds the distinction of being one of the UK's youngest female solo artist to hit the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart.-Singing career:...
— the youngest pop star in Guinness World RecordsGuinness World RecordsGuinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
, started singing professionally at the age of eight, while attending the school. The school's choirChoirA choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
formed the backing for her cover of I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony) which reached the UK Top 40 in 2002.