A POPULAR head teacher who has been teaching in Monmouth for 27 years is to stand down.

Mr Vaughan Davies, Head Teacher at Monmouth Comprehensive School, will be leaving the school on 31st August.

Mr Davies joined the school in 1993 as head of the history department, then became a deputy head for 10 years before being appointed head teacher after Carole Anderson left for another post.

Mr Davies will have seen many changes at the school over the years, none more so than a complete transformation of the 1960s-built buildings into a 21st century state-of-the-art complex serving the 1,600 pupils on register.

The school opened for business in September 2018 with a high-profile visit from the First Minister of the Welsh Assembly at the time, Carwyn Jones.

The popularity of Mr Davies is reflected in the academic achievements of the school, when in 2019, 130 students were entered for A-level and vocational courses and results saw an impressive 98 per cent pass rate, of which 43 per cent achieved the very top grades A*/A and 84 per cent of students achieved A*- C.

The chair of the governing body, Mrs Victoria Smith said that the school, as well as the governing body will be "extremely sad to see Mr Davies leave our school".

"He is an outstanding teacher and an inspirational leader who is incredibly popular with staff and students alike."

She added that his commitment to comprehensive education and to ensuring every student achieves to the best of their individual ability is "clear for all to see".

"Whilst we are very sorry to see Mr Davies go, he leaves the school in a very strong position," she said. "We are a high achieving school with a committed staff and aspirational students, situated in a desirable part of the county.

"We are sure we will attract very high calibre candidates amongst which we will find the right person to lead and further develop our already successful school. We are very clear that only an exceptional candidate will be right for our school and we will be working in the coming weeks to appoint our new head teacher."

Mr Davies, who is not looking for another headship at this time, said: "It is with trepidation, and after much deliberation, that I leave our school but I am looking forward to pursuing new adventures."