A Meirionnydd secondary school has been given the worst ‘red’ rating by the Welsh Government, meaning it needs “urgent improvement”.

Ysgol Ardudwy in Harlech is the only school in the Dwyfor-Meirionnydd area to be rated red in the government’s latest categorisation. The four categories are (from best to worst) green, yellow, amber and red.

The school was put into special measures by Estyn last year following a difficult period in which the headteacher and chair of governors left.

It is one of only three Gwynedd secondary schools to be rated red, and now requires “the most intensive support”.

Gwynedd Council insisted that the categories “do not necessarily provide a fair picture of each individual school’s performance”.

And in better news for Gwynedd, more primary schools than last year were rated green.

The categorisation system was launched by the Welsh Government in 2014 in a bid to drive up performance, following criticism that the scrapping of league tables had led to school standards falling.

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