A Swansea Valley comprehensive school has received an impressive report from Welsh education watchdog, Estyn.

Cwmtawe Community School in Pontardawe was commended for its “vibrant culture of learning” and  “strong sense of community.”

Estyn scrutinised standards, wellbeing and attitudes to learning, teaching and learning experiences, care, support and guidance, and leadership and management - awarding the school the highest ‘excellent’ judgement in three of the five areas inspected.

Inspectors were full of praise for the school’s strong sense of community and stated that pupils, “are polite and courteous to one another and adults, and develop strong working relationships with staff.”

“Pupils’ development as respectful, well-rounded learners is at the heart of Cwmtawe Community School.

"The school is a caring and inclusive community, which promotes a culture of high expectations and care for others.”

“They have a strong sense of responsibility and citizenship. For example, they help organise events and have raised substantial sums of money for a wide range of local and national charities.”

The school’s, “highly effective teaching” was also singled out for praise which inspectors reported has engendere, “a sense of excitement and curiosity in learning” and developed “confident independent learners.”

Estyn also celebrated Cwmtawe’s “exceptionally strong performance” at GCSE across the curriculum and noted that the excellent performance of boys at the school bucks the national trend.

Head Boy and Girl, Scott Hawkins and Libby O’Sullivan, both Associate Governors at Cwmtawe, said: “We’re very proud that the inspectors saw what an amazing school we are.

"The pupils and teachers work extremely hard together, and with the wider community, so it’s fantastic to see this highlighted in the report.”

Mr Lee Hitchings, Headteacher, added: “I am delighted that Estyn have recognised the hard work of our pupils and staff.

"The whole school community should be proud of achieving such outstanding outcomes.

"Excellent judgements from Estyn are becoming increasingly rare, so the report is cause for celebration for everyone involved with the school.”

Inspectors have now asked Cwmtawe to share their excellent practice with other schools through case studies which will be made available via the Estyn website.

A full copy of the report can be found online.