A headteacher has pledged to continue to drive up standards at a school which was judged by inspectors to need “significant improvement”.

Ann Webb, headteacher at Ysgol John Bright, said she is determined to transform the Llandudno-based school into a “truly exceptional” one after being handed a red rating under the Welsh Government’s colour-coded rating scheme earlier in the year.

This was down from an amber rating the year before and Estyn said, in its report on the school by inspectors following up on a previous inspection in 2015, John Bright had made "insufficient progress" and was "in need of significant improvement".

The report focused on four main points - raising standards in English and boys performance both in key stage four as well as refining lesson planning and improving the focus and sharpness of self-evaluation.

It stated Mrs Webb and the school had implemented a variety of measures to try and address these issues, but they were not producing any results.

But Mrs Webb said the report only focused on a snapshot of two days and looked at the legacy of where the school had been rather then where it was headed.

Speaking to the Pioneer, she said: "They made the snapshot fit that rating. Currently there is an improving picture but the report looks at the legacy from where the school has been.

"We are currently in a strong place and we've done an awful lot of work. We are working towards impacting results but we can't demonstrate that in a small snapshot. There is also a very narrow focus on year 11s, not the rest of the school.

"The improvement plan should take three to five years to start breeding results and we are part way through year three. This summers results should start to see an impact and then a further improvement in next year's pupils.

"The impact will start coming through soon, it was never going to happen in 12 months."

Carla Forfar, the chair of the governors, said contrary to the impression given in the report, the school was now making great strides forward thanks to the leadership of Mrs Webb who was appointed in 2016.

At her previous school, Eaton Bank Academy, in Congleton, in Cheshire, Mrs Webb’s leadership as the headteacher was described as “outstanding” by inspectors from Ofsted, England’s equivalent of Estyn.

Mrs Forfar said: “Ann Webb is a brilliant headteacher and she is bringing those same excellent leadership qualities to bear on making massive improvements here at Ysgol John Bright.

“The school’s internal tracking data clearly showed verifiable improvements and another factor that should have been taken into account by the inspectors was the changes to the grade boundaries made by the Welsh Government which meant it wasn’t a level playing field and nearly 20 of our students were disadvantaged as a result.

“The passion in this school to improve is enormous and Ann Webb is very impressive and she’s very much got the staff with her.

“She hasn’t gone for a quick fix, she’s introducing root and branch changes that are leading to long-term, sustainable improvement."