THE principal of the lowest-ranked school in the latest league tables has promised a ‘better and brighter future for students’.

Netherwood Academy was given a Progress 8 score - which measures progress pupils make from primary school to their final GCSE exams - of -0.92, making it the lowest of Barnsley’s ten secondary schools for progress.

Angela Wells took over the role as principal in January last year, and admitted that it became apparent year 11 results ‘were not going to be where they should be’.

“It was equally clear though that staff, students and parents were wholeheartedly giving their all to achieve the best they could,” Angela added.

“And indeed, the results showed significant improvements on 2017, notably, in English and maths, where 49 per cent were now getting a grade four or above - previously a C grade. And whilst these showed an improvement, the truth is that these results reflected some of the curriculum choices that students had made in 2015, prior to Netherwood joining Astrea.”

Angela was drafted in to spearhead improvements at the school, ranked in the bottom three per cent nationally when she took over, because of her experience turning around failing schools.

She took part in parent forums and implemented policy changes, making sure everyone was on the same page and the app-roach is yielding results.

“The whole team has been working incredibly hard to make improvements to how we teach, how we recruit and train our staff, and on the academy’s ethos as a whole,” Angela said.

“I’m incredibly proud of our current year 11s, and they are buying in to everything we are offering to support them through this year. Attendance has improved, and we are expecting much better results this summer.

“Netherwood is changing. The improvements we are making mean that we are able to promise a better and brighter future for our students, and I would like to thank staff, students and parents for all of their support.”