POWYS council has defended the new super-school in Machynlleth after it was ranked in the bottom category of the Welsh Government rating system.

Ysgol Bro Hyddgen will receive “maximum support” under the National School Categorisation System after being rated in the ‘red’ support category and handed the bottom rank of ‘D’ for improvement capacity.

The red ranking means the school is “experiencing a decline in key performance areas” and will be the subject of intervention from officials.

The school was formed by the merger of the town’s primary and secondary schools last year.

The Welsh Government said that each school’s category is “determined by a range of factors including the quality of its leadership, its performance data, self evaluation by the school and its wider capacity to improve.”

Despite the results, Powys council said the category for Machynlleth reflected the fact that it was a new school and would be given support as the merger settled in.

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