Charles Williams Church in Wales Primary School in Caerleon opened its doors to the public last week as Newport’s most recently amalgamated primary. HANNAH WOOD went to the grand opening to find out more.

WITH a name change, an amalgamation and a newly appointed head teacher, 2014 has been a year of new beginnings for Charles Williams Church in Wales Primary School in Caerleon.

Earlier this year, Caerleon Endowed Infants and Caerleon Endowed Juniors joined together to form the new primary school and it has since been the talk of the community. The transition appears to be a great success with the official opening demonstrating the bond that has already been formed between staff and pupils from all key stages.

The new primary is named after Charles Williams who gave a £5,000 endorsement to the school when it was founded in 1724. Charles decided to endow a school in his home town where children could be educated free of charge while being taught the principles of the Christian religion. From an initial roll of 60 pupils, the school has grown to the extent that it now has more than 500 pupils from nursery age to year six.

Their newly-appointed head teacher, Jared Nolan, is very optimistic about the changes that have been made so far.

He said: “The new school is all about having a consistent progressive approach. It’s about challenging and helping the children.”

The new school motto ‘Caes Oleuni – Seek the Light’ reiterates this, explains Mr Nolan. “Seek the Light refers to the children’s desire to achieve and how we as staff provide them with opportunities while also seeking the light of God.”

The school prides itself on its Christian values and integrates this into everything they do, ensuring that every child leaves with a “sense of pride and respect for the school”.

Pupils and staff have close links with St Cadocs Church, Caerleon, and key religious figures in the community including the Bishop of Monmouth, Richard Pain, who played a significant role in the opening of the new primary.

“The religious values are something that the children can hopefully have for life, but we want them to choose their own values and this is done through the mosaic we have in the hall,” explained Mr Nolan. The mosaic has the values that the children have chosen engraved into the design and acts as a focal point for the school’s worship. The values,including peace, forgiveness and thankfulness, underpin the core principles of every pupil and member of staff at Charles Williams.

Before the amalgamation, Caerleon Endowed Juniors 2012 Estyn report stated that the school had a good current performance, but the prospect for improvement was only rated as adequate. One of the main reasons for this was the school’s ‘lack of leadership’ which affected the management process and strategic direction of the school. Mr Nolan expressed his determination to strengthen this.

He said: “Our next inspection will be in the next 12 to18 months and something I really want to improve upon is the school’s leadership to support the excellent teaching and overall performance.”

Prior to the amalgamation, both the juniors and the infants had a 95 per cent attendance with 93 per cent of pupils achieving the expected outcome in Key Stage 2 and 100 per cent of pupils achieving the expected outcome in the foundation phase. The head teacher is adamant that these high standards will be maintained.

With the new academic year now well under way, the positive changes made in the school are already beginning to show. A new breakfast club has been set up to help working families and extra-curricular activities are continuing to expand, but perhaps the most noticeable difference is the uniform.

Leaving behind the old yellow and navy colours for a white polo top and green jumper or cardigan, pupils throughout all key stages, including the nursery, now all wear the same uniform. This is much to the delight of head boy Sam Evans and head girl Katie Thirsk, both aged 10, who much prefer the new colour scheme.

Katie said: “I really like this uniform, it’s much smarter.” Sam agreed, admitting that the new uniform has made it easier for younger and older pupils to bond.

The appointment of head and deputy head girl and boy is another new initiative introduced at the school. Each candidate had to apply for the positions and members of the staff then chose from the year six contenders. “The four pupils selected will act as representatives for the student body and no doubt have busy and exciting times ahead,” claimed Mr Nolan.

Student representation has been crucial to the new developments of the school and its improvement. Mr Nolan described how a family of schools across Gwent, including Charles Williams, have selected pupils as school ambassadors to attend conferences and observe lessons in other primaries with members of staff. The purpose being to gather ideas and highlight areas of improvement needed. He said by observing classroom lessons and activities it had given pupils a chance to make a difference to their education and have a real input on how the school is run.

Furthermore, the pupils at Charles Williams Primary are keen to get involved with community issues. They recently represented Gwent in the GoSafe scheme that enforces a 20mph speed limit outside schools. After losing a wall in a crash last year, pupils worked with police and fire officers to underline the importance of the reduced speed limit in Caerleon.

Charles Williams Primary School also prides itself on being an Eco School and part of Forest Schools Education. Members of staff ensure pupils are environmentally friendly and aware of the issues around this.

One of the school’s recent environmentally friendly initiatives was to donate the old school uniforms to Hands Around The World, an organisation that helps the needy and vulnerable.

There is no doubt that pupils at the newly formed primary school have a bright future ahead of them. The official opening after the amalgamation demonstrated the determination of both staff and children in coming together to ensure Charles Williams is not only an excellent learning facility, but also an integral part of the community.

Mr Nolan said: “Our school is absolutely about giving children the very best education we can offer, that is our main purpose. It’s been amazing to see the whole school and the community coming together.”