By Bruce Sinclair,Local Democracy Reporter,Robert Harries

Copyright walesonline

Councillors have endorsed calls for extensive building improvements or a complete rebuild at Tenby’s Ysgol Greenhill, where urgent repair work commenced earlier this year following the discovery of over 700 structural defects. Members of a Pembrokeshire County Council committee examined a July inspection carried out by the Schools Scrutiny Panel at Greenhill School in Tenby. The institution educates around 900 students and has been led by Head Teacher David Haynes since 2021, when the establishment was placed under special measures. Special measures status was lifted in 2022. Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here. Both staff and students highlighted concerns about the building’s condition during the panel’s visit, according to a report presented to members, with construction activity taking place throughout the scrutiny assessment. Emergency repair work began at the school earlier this year, with a contract exceeding £0.5m allocated for critical maintenance after more than 700 building faults were identified. The report commended Mr Haynes’ “strong leadership”. It also said: “Cluster and partnership working has been a focus of the school since 2021; one of the recommendations from Estyn following their 2024 inspection was to improve Welsh Language teaching so work was ongoing with Narberth CP School to improve this. “Pupils expressed that they would like the Welsh language to be more integrated in their lessons as it was not often spoken outside of Welsh Language classes.” The report added: “It was noted that the cluster had set two priorities focusing on improving attendance and reading.” It stated that attendance remained a persistent challenge following the Covid pandemic, with the senior leadership team collaborating with the school cluster to address this issue, whilst the partnership with the cluster had been reinforced and the school was striving to enhance reading standards amongst incoming Year 7 pupils, as well as reading standards more broadly. Within the report, the panel indicated that additional effort was required regarding Welsh language education, but determined: “The panel was impressed by the significant improvements made by the school in the last two years since and praised the head teacher for the work he had carried out since his appointment in 2021.” During the meeting, Mr Haynes highlighted that the school had been removed from special measures in 2022, rather than the 2024 date referenced in the report, before expressing gratitude to the council for their assistance with repairs which had resulted in “a minimal impact on the running of the school”. Members endorsed the proposals presented to them that the director of education establishes partnerships beyond the existing cluster and supplies resources for bilingual signage and Welsh language enrichment activities, school development advisors champion earlier reading assessments in primary schools and support transition programmes centred on literacy, and for the council to prioritise funding and strategic planning for long-term building improvements or a new school build.