A NEWLY-appointed Newport head teacher says he feels honoured to have been given the role.

Rhys Evans has taken over as head teacher of St Julian's School.

The former assistant head teacher at the 1,650-pupil school has been acting head teacher for the past 18 months.

But says he is delighted to have been confirmed in the role.

“It was an honour to be appointed as the head teacher," he said.

“Although because I have been acting head for around 18 months lots of things don’t change at all.

“When I came to work the day after I was appointed the excitement was still there but quickly disappeared and we were faced with the same day to day work.”

Mr Evans says his priority is to raise standards at the school which employs more than 200 members of staff.

At the school's last inspection in 2014, Estyn described the school's performance and its prospects for improvement as 'adequate'.

The report highlighted that the school is highly effective with its arrangements for identifying, supporting and monitoring pupils additional learning needs.

Mr Evans said: “Continuing to improve standards is a key area for us after Estyn visited.

“My work has been to address the recommendations that they have given us and we’re very keen for them to come back in and visit us.

“That’s our first hurdle really. It’s a continual drive.”

Mr Evans who has worked at St Julian's for nine years also spent time teaching in Bath and Canada.

He said he believes St Julian's is unique due to its history and the diversity of its pupils.

He added: “We have 39 different ethnic groups around the school that speak 38 different languages, so we celebrate our diversity here.

“Our students come here with different religious beliefs and values and we put them here in this building to develop and learn together.

“Everyone respects each other and that’s fantastic, that is how a school should be, and I’m proud of that.”