A MEIRIONNYDD comprehensive school that received a damning report by inspectors 12 months ago has made “significant improvements” in the past year.

In 2015, Ysgol y Gader was deemed in need of “significant improvement” as problems with staff absences and bullying plagued the education facility in Dolgellau.

However, in just one year, the school has rallied and has made drastic improvements and impressed Estyn’s monitoring team who were submitting a new report to track the school’s progress.

The new report says the school has made “strong progress” on many of the inspectorate’s recommendations.

Ysgol y Gader enjoyed its best ever GCSE results in the summer and they put them among the highest-performing schools in the country.

Acting headteacher David Jones was delighted with the latest report.

He said: ”This year’s GCSE results are a testimony to the hard work of our pupils and also to the quality of the education that they received whilst at Ysgol y Gader.

“The teachers and all the support staff have worked so hard to achieve these standards and I very satisfied that this was recognised during the recent Estyn inspection.”

Chair of the governors and Dolgellau’s mayor, Dyfrig Siencyn, added: ”I am proud of the enormous achievements of the school throughout the last year which culminated in these excellent results and a favourable Estyn report.

“This is the result of the concerted and determined efforts of all the staff who have worked tirelessly."

Read the full story in this week’s Meirionnydd edition of the Cambrian News, in shops now