Penglais School

Waunfawr Aberystwyth Ceredigion SY23 3AW

Date of inspection: January 2014 by

Estyn, Her Majesty's Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales

During each inspection, inspectors aim to answer three key questions:

Key Question 1: How good are the outcomes?

Key Question 2: How good is provision?

Key Question 3: How good are leadership and management?

Inspectors also provide an overall judgement on the school's current performance and on its prospects for improvement.

In these evaluations, inspectors use a four-point scale:

Judgement	What the judgement means
Excellent	Many strengths, including significant examples of sector-leading practice
Good	Many strengths and no important areas requiring significant improvement
Adequate	Strengths outweigh areas for improvement
Unsatisfactory	Important areas for improvement outweigh strengths

The report was produced in accordance with Section 28 of the Education Act 2005.

Every possible care has been taken to ensure that the information in this document is accurate at the time of going to press. Any enquiries or comments regarding this document/publication should be addressed to:

Publication Section

Estyn

Anchor Court, Keen Road

Cardiff

CF24 5JW or by email to publications@estyn.gov.uk

This and other Estyn publications are available on our website: www.estyn.gov.uk

This document has been translated by Trosol (English to Welsh).

© Crown Copyright 2014: This report may be re-used free of charge in any format or medium provided that it is re-used accurately and not used in a misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as Crown copyright and the title of the report specified.

Publication date: 01/04/2014

Context

Penglais School is an English-medium 11 to 18 comprehensive school in Aberystwyth. There are 1,280 pupils on roll, including 324 in the sixth form. At the time of the previous inspection in February 2008, there were 1,365 pupils on roll, with 316 in the sixth form.

The school occupies a large site located near to the university campus in Aberystwyth. The school serves the town of Aberystwyth as well as the surrounding rural communities. Around 14% of pupils speak Welsh as the predominant language at home, and 21% speak Welsh fluently. Most pupils who followed a programme of study in Welsh first language in primary school continue to study Welsh as a first language. Around 28% of pupils are taught Welsh as a first language. In key stage 3, all pupils are taught physical education, music and some modules in design and technology bilingually. In key stage 4, around a quarter of pupils study Welsh language as a first language.

Most pupils are from a white British background. Thirty-two pupils speak English as an additional language.

Twelve per cent of pupils are entitled to free school meals, and this is lower than the national average of 17.7%. Around 3% of pupils have statements of special educational needs compared with 2.5% for Wales as a whole. Around 31% of pupils have a special educational need, which is higher than the national average of 19.2%. The school has a specialist resource base serving the local authority for 20 pupils with moderate learning difficulties.

The school introduced the Welsh Baccalaureate qualification in the sixth form in 2005 and in key stage 4 in 2007.

The headteacher has been in post since September 2013. The senior leadership team consists of one deputy headteacher, two assistant headteachers and five senior teachers.

The individual school budget per pupil for Penglais School in 2013-2014 means that the budget is £4,540 per pupil. The maximum per pupil in the secondary schools in Ceredigion is £6,533 and the minimum is £4,050. Penglais School is sixth out of the seven secondary schools in Ceredigion in terms of its school budget per pupil.

Summary

The school's current performance	Adequate
The school's prospects for improvement	Adequate

Current performance

Good features in the school's current performance include:

• • in key stage 4, the strong performance over the past year in indicators that include English and mathematics, which compares favourably with that in similar schools;

• • the knowledge, understanding and skills gained successfully in lessons by the majority of pupils;

• • the very good behaviour and positive attitudes that many pupils have to their work and the school;

• • highly effective provision for pupils with additional learning needs;

• • effective partnership working that has contributed to improving pupils' wellbeing and increased the range of options in key stage 4 and the sixth form; and

• • an inclusive and supporting ethos.

However, there are important areas for improvement:

• • boys do less well than girls at end of key stage 3 and key stage 4;

• • pupils entitled to free school meals do not make as much progress at the end of key stage 3 and key stage 4 as those in similar schools;

• • attendance is below expected levels;

• • the co-ordination for progression in pupils' literacy and numeracy skills is underdeveloped; and

• • the quality of teaching and assessment varies too much within and across departments and does not have enough impact on standards achieved by a minority of pupils.

Prospects for improvement

There are good features in the leadership of the school:

• • the leadership has secured recent improvements in standards at key stage 4;

• • the headteacher has a thorough understanding of the strengths and areas for improvement for the school;

• • clear aims, strategies and policies focus suitably on raising standards and the school's vision is communicated effectively;

• • the governing body acts as a critical friend and has a strong oversight of the school's finances.

However, prospects for improvement are judged as adequate because:

• • roles and responsibilities of senior leaders are not clear or strategic enough and they do not hold middle leaders to account robustly enough for improving outcomes in standards and wellbeing;

• • the school does not make enough use of the data on the performance of different groups and, at departmental level, middle leaders do not consider comparisons with similar schools and progress over time well enough; and

• • the quality and rigour of self-evaluation and improvement planning by senior and middle leaders are inconsistent.

Recommendations

R1 Improve the achievement of boys and pupils entitled to free school meals

R2 Improve attendance rates

R3 Improve the co-ordination and implementation of the plan to develop pupils' literacy and numeracy skills to ensure they make suitable progress in all subjects

R4 Improve the quality of teaching and assessment

R5 Address the health and safety concerns raised during the inspection

R6 Ensure that the senior leaders hold middle leaders to account for raising standards

R7 Improve the rigour and effectiveness of self-evaluation and improvement planning at all levels

What happens next?

The school will draw up an action plan which shows how it is going to address the recommendations. Estyn will monitor the school's progress.

Main findings

Key Question 1: How good are outcomes?

Adequate

Standards: Adequate

The school's performance at key stage 4 in those indicators that include English and mathematics improved sharply in 2013 and is now above the average when compared with that of similar schools. In 2013, the school's performance is better than expected after being well below expectations in the previous three years. Performance in English and mathematics over the past four years has been below the average for similar schools, although in 2013 performance in these subjects has improved sharply and now compares well with that of similar schools. In 2013, performance in those indicators that include a wider range of qualifications is below the average for similar schools. Pupil progress from previous key stages is much better than expected for those indicators that include English and mathematics, but is generally below expectations for those indicators that include a wider range of qualifications. No pupil has left the school without a qualification in the past five years and many stay on in full-time education and training.

At A level, performance is above family and national averages. In 2013, around a half of pupils gain the highest grades at A level.

At key stage 3, performance in English, mathematics and science combined has improved in three of the past four years and is better than the average for similar schools. Pupils' progress from the previous key stage is above expectations.

Boys generally perform less well than girls in both key stage 3 and key stage 4 and the gap between the performance of boys and girls is larger than that for other schools and nationally. Pupils entitled to free school meals do not perform as expected and pupils with special educational needs make progress in line with expectations.

In a majority of lessons, pupils make good progress and gain new knowledge, understanding and skills. In these lessons, they recall prior learning well and apply their knowledge and understanding confidently to new situations. In a few lessons, more able pupils and those with weak basic skills make rapid progress. However, in a minority of lessons, where there is insufficient challenge, pupils do not make enough progress. In these lessons, pupils do not make sufficient gains in applying their prior knowledge or develop their thinking or writing skills well enough.

Many pupils use subject terminology well in their writing and in class discussion. A majority of pupils work well independently and in groups. They use their problem-solving skills well to evaluate unfamiliar work and come to clear conclusions. However, a minority of pupils lack resilience are too reliant on teacher support and lose interest in their work.

Many pupils speak clearly and articulately and most pupils listen well to each other and respond positively to their teachers. A few pupils lack confidence in speaking in groups or to whole class; or giving extended responses using subject-specific terminology.

Many pupils read fluently and with expression. They identify key terms and select relevant information to show a clear understanding. More able pupils synthesise information adeptly from a range of texts and use sophisticated language to analyse texts in essays and reports. However, a minority of pupils use a more limited range of reading strategies and give brief responses or simple explanations of information read.

Many pupils write well for an appropriate range of purposes and audiences, including essays, letters, articles and reports. More able pupils' writing is assured, persuasive and well-crafted, using apt and sophisticated vocabulary. Where pupils are given the opportunities, their extended writing is generally well presented and detailed. However, many pupils make too many errors in spelling and punctuation and do not make corrections consistently enough in their written work to improve the accuracy of their writing, even though the majority of teachers identify the errors. Presentation of a minority of pupils' work, particularly that of boys, is untidy across many subjects and a few pupils' handwriting is poorly formed and hinders their ability to write accurately and at length.

Many pupils generally use a range of number skills well. More able pupils' mental calculations are particularly strong. Many pupils use their numerical reasoning skills well to identify appropriate strategies to complete tasks in a range of contexts. However, a few pupils lack the confidence to use and apply their numerical reasoning skills. Many pupils present and analyse data in different charts and graphs accurately. However, a few pupils make too many basic errors in presenting line graphs.

In Welsh second language at key stage 3, pupils' performance has improved over the last four years and is better than family averages. In 2013, performance places the school in the top quarter of similar schools based on free-school-meal benchmarks. In 2013 in Welsh first language at key stage 3, pupils' performance is better than national averages and places the school in the upper half of similar schools in terms of free-school-meal benchmarks. At key stage 4, nearly all pupils are entered for a qualification in Welsh in first or second language and many do well.

Wellbeing: Adequate

Nearly all pupils have a strong sense of community and they show a high level of respect, care and concern for others. They are polite and considerate to each other, adults and visitors.

Many pupils feel safe in school and they consider that the school deals well with bullying. They have sound knowledge of how healthy eating, diet and exercise contribute to healthy lifestyles and they put this knowledge into practice well when influencing the choice of food available in the school.

Many pupils show interest in their learning and respond positively to the teaching. Pupils behave well around the school and most behave well in lessons. There have been no permanent exclusions in the last five years and the number of fixed-term exclusions has reduced significantly during this same period.

Pupils' attendance rates in 2013 fell by about half a percentage point when compared with attendance in 2012. This is below the expected level of attendance, when compared with that of similar schools, placing the school in the lower 50% of similar schools and one of the lowest in its family of schools. Unauthorised absences have increased over the last four years and, in 2013, unauthorised absence rates are higher than national and local authority averages.

Many pupils take on a wide range of responsibilities in the school and wider community. This includes the enthusiastic members of the school council who, as well as influencing decisions such as changes to the school uniform, organise whole-school fundraising events. Sixth-form pupils participate in an extensive range of community activities in and beyond the school as part of the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification. For example, they provide skills support for younger pupils and help organise sporting events with local primary schools. This, as well as a wide range of other activities, helps pupils to develop effectively their social and life skills.

Key Question 2: How good is provision?

Adequate

Learning experiences: Adequate

The curriculum at key stage 3 and key stage 4 meets pupils' needs and is broad and balanced. The key stage 3 curriculum builds suitably on pupils' experiences in key stage 2. At key stage 4 and in the sixth form there is a worthwhile range of academic and vocational options. This includes over one third of key stage 4 pupils following a level 2 course in a modern foreign language. The school provides a comprehensive range of extra-curricular activities that are well attended and support the curriculum effectively.

The school makes strong provision for pupils who encounter difficulty with their basic skills and for those who are at risk of disengagement. Support for these pupils is well established and effective, and enables them to gain worthwhile qualifications. However, these successful strategies to support pupils with weak literacy and numeracy skills are not shared well enough with teachers across the school.

The school has appropriate plans for implementing the Literacy and Numeracy Framework. However, the implementation is not co-ordinated well enough and , although planning for skills in subject schemes of work is secure, in a minority of lessons teachers do not ensure that all pupils have opportunities to develop their literacy and numeracy skills at an appropriate level.

The school makes a valuable provision for the Welsh language and the Welsh dimension and approximately a quarter of pupils in key stage 3 and key stage 4 continue to study Welsh as a first language. While there is a sound range of extracurricular activity for pupils to develop and improve their use of the Welsh language, pupils' use of the language outside of Welsh classrooms and around the school is limited.

Both curricular and extra-curricular activities help pupils develop a beneficial knowledge and understanding of sustainable development and global citizenship. Enthusiastic eco and fair trade groups make strong contributions to recycling and minimising waste. Well-established international links with schools help pupils to develop a valuable understanding of the wider world.

Teaching: Adequate

Most teachers have secure subject knowledge and develop strong working relationships with pupils. However, overall, the quality of teaching varies too much and does not have enough impact on the standards achieved by pupils.

In a majority of lessons, teachers set high expectations and use a wide variety of activities well matched to pupil needs. Lessons have clear objectives with suitable pace and challenge. Teachers in these lessons use resources successfully to motivate and engage pupils. In a very few lessons where teaching is most effective, teachers have very high expectations and use skilful questioning to probe and develop pupils' understanding. They provide valuable feedback and share criteria for success to enable pupils to understand clearly how well they are doing and how to improve.

However, in a significant minority of lessons teachers do not plan effectively and their expectations are not high enough. The pace in these lessons is too slow, particularly towards the end, and pupils do not make sufficient progress. In these lessons, aims are not clear enough and groups of pupils are not suitably challenged. Teachers do not use questioning techniques skilfully to engage pupils well enough in their learning.

Nearly all teachers mark pupils' work regularly and the majority provide them with appropriate written feedback. A few teachers write valuable comments on pupils' work clearly identifying strengths, weaknesses and targets for improvement. However, the quality of feedback varies too much within and between subjects and many comments do not provide enough specific guidance on how to improve.

The school has suitable systems to track and monitor the progress of pupils at individual, group and subject level. However, teachers do not use these well enough to identify underachievement and take suitable timely action to help pupils improve their work.

Parents receive two interim reports and an end of year report about their child's progress. However, in many of these reports subject comments are not specific enough and do not give pupils a clear indication of how to improve.

Care, support and guidance: Adequate

The school makes appropriate arrangements for promoting healthy eating and drinking. There are effective arrangements to support pupils' health and wellbeing in lessons, extra-curricular and pastoral activities, and in specialist support sessions.

The school promotes pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. For example, the personal and social education programme is organised effectively and makes valuable use of outside organisations such as Amnesty International and the local university to enhance delivery and widen pupils' understanding.

The school provides pupils with valuable support and guidance through a comprehensive range of information and specialist services, which successfully meets their needs. This includes beneficial on-site partnerships such as the school's pastoral and ‘Hafan' centre staff, counsellor and nurse working together well with outside agencies to provide effective support for vulnerable learners and pupils with behavioural difficulties. This has had a positive impact on these pupils' performance and wellbeing.

The school's provision for pupils with additional learning needs is highly effective. In particular, the inclusive arrangements and high level of sensitive and caring support provided by the school's learning support centre help pupils to integrate well into school life and achieve strong outcomes. For example, in 2013, at the end of key stage 4 and the sixth form, all pupils mainly based in the learning support centre left school with a recognised qualification. The school's arrangements for the identification and monitoring of pupils' additional learning needs are robust. Individual education plans are appropriate to each pupil's needs, they set suitable targets and are reviewed regularly.

Although the school's arrangements for safeguarding pupils meet most requirements, a few health and safety matters, which give cause for concern, were raised with the school during the inspection.

Learning environment: Adequate

Penglais School is a highly inclusive community, which strongly values the diversity of pupils' backgrounds and abilities. All pupils receive equal access to the curriculum and all aspects of the school's provision. This helps all pupils to participate fully and enthusiastically in school life. The school has appropriate equality schemes and action plans that meet statutory requirements. .

The school generally makes effective use of its buildings and grounds to create a stimulating learning environment. For example, many classrooms are welcoming and contain relevant and stimulating subject displays. Resources are well matched to meet a wide range of pupils' learning needs. However, there are a few health and safety concerns with regard to aspects of the school buildings and grounds. These were raised with the school during the inspection.

Key Question 3: How good are leadership and management?

Adequate

Leadership: Adequate

Following his appointment in September 2013, the headteacher has provided the school with a clear picture of what is required to move the school forward. He demonstrates strong leadership and has focused resources to raise standards and ensure the wellbeing of pupils. There are clear aims, strategic objectives, plans and policies, which are understood by all members of staff. These are focused on meeting pupils' needs and improving outcomes. The headteacher has high expectations of all staff.

Management and committee structures are well established. There are clear lines of communication between senior managers and the departments and year groups that they line manage. Suitable support is provided through a series of half-termly minuted meetings, book monitoring and lesson observations. However, in many instances, senior leaders do not hold middle leaders to account robustly enough for improving outcomes in standards and wellbeing. For example, the scrutiny of pupils' work and pupils' reports by both senior and middle leaders is not rigorous enough.

The responsibilities of the senior leadership team are known to all staff. However, too many of these responsibilities overlap, they are not strategic enough and many involve administrative tasks. Furthermore, the time allocation to undertake these roles is uneven.

There is inconsistency in the use of data to monitor performance by a significant minority of senior and middle leaders within the school. The headteacher carries out a thorough in-depth analysis of performance data to track pupils' progress before distributing the findings to the senior and middle leaders for discussion. Although heads of year undertake their pastoral roles very well, their academic role of monitoring performance is under developed and the analysis of data by a few is insecure.

The management of underperforming staff is dealt with sensitively and rigorously by the school. The recently revised performance management procedures are incorporated appropriately in the work of the school. Targets set for staff link well to raising pupils' performance and inform the school's professional development programme suitably. However, the professional development of staff has not had enough impact on the overall quality of teaching and improving standards.

The school takes appropriate account of national priorities for literacy, numeracy and tackling disadvantage, as well as widening the curriculum through vocational courses in collaboration with other providers. However, the school has not succeeded in decreasing the gap between the performance of boys and girls in important areas or improving the performance of pupils entitled to free school meals.

The governing body has a well-established committee structure that examines key aspects of the work of the school effectively. It monitors performance data and reviews the progress of the school development plan appropriately. Governors have a strong oversight of the school's finances and allocate resources well in their budget planning. Nearly all school policies, plans and procedures are scrutinised appropriately by the governing body, which acts as a critical friend to the school. Governors are well informed about the school's performance but they do not hold leaders to account well enough for their responsibilities.

Improving quality: Adequate

Overall, the school has appropriate arrangements for improving quality, including a regular cycle of self-evaluation activities. At whole-school level, there are satisfactory processes to evaluate the school's performance and provision. However, the school does not make enough use of the data on the performance of different groups and, at departmental level, middle leaders do not consider trends or comparisons with similar schools and progress over time well enough. Recently, the school has increased the opportunities to gain the views of pupils and parents through activities such as targeted questionnaires. This is helping senior leaders to form a more accurate view of the school's strengths and areas for development.

The school's self-evaluation report is very detailed and contains overall judgements and a useful evaluative summary for each quality indicator. The analysis of data to evaluate pupils' standards draws well on value-added analysis and from national data sources, including national literacy and numeracy tests. The report appropriately draws upon reviews by external agencies. However, the quality of evaluation reports of around half of middle leaders is poor as they are too descriptive and do not use a wide range of comparative data to evaluate performance.

To inform the school's judgements on teaching and assessment, senior leaders use a wide range of first-hand evidence, including lesson observation and book scrutiny. However, in a few cases, judgements are too generous or descriptive and do not identify areas for improvement accurately.

The school's planning for improvement draws appropriately on the results of self-evaluation. Improvement plans at whole-school and middle leaders' level specify actions but lack realistic timescales, clear success criteria, lead responsibilities or sufficiently detailed resource allocations. The plans do not outline opportunities for monitoring and evaluation in sufficient depth. As a result, there is too much variation in how effectively senior and middle leaders monitor the impact of improvement plans.

The school has made suitable progress in responding to the recommendations of the last inspection in 2008. However, progress to ensure greater consistency within and between departments in assessment policy and practice has been slow. In 2013, the school was successful in securing improvements to raise standards in those qualifications at key stage 4 that include English and mathematics.

Partnership working: Good

The school's arrangements for partnership working are strong and contribute to improved opportunities and outcomes for pupils.

The school's worthwhile partnerships with local primary schools ensure effective transition and continuity. Strong links with a wide range of partners have helped to broaden curriculum provision at key stage 4 and in the sixth form. For example, close collaboration with the local university has been beneficial providing pupils with valuable first-hand experience of research processes, using specialist resources and with mentors.

The school works well with an extensive range of local, national, and international organisations and community groups to enhance its provision and enrich the curriculum. This includes well-established links with schools in Malawi and Japan, which have enabled pupils to appreciate the diversity of people's lives and cultures.

Effective links exist with a range of agencies to promote and support the emotional health and wellbeing of pupils. The school has very strong and positive partnerships with parents and carers.

Resource management: Adequate

The school has suitably qualified staff to meet the requirements of the curriculum and nearly all members of staff teach within their own specialist area. The school deploys support staff effectively. Planned developments are costed carefully and spending is kept under review efficiently by the headteacher, finance officer and chair of governors. Sixth-form provision is cost effective.

All members of staff are involved appropriately in the performance management process and arrangements for professional development are sound. However, arrangements for developing the skills of senior and middle leaders are insufficient and the school does not monitor the overall impact of professional development well enough.

All teaching members of staff are involved in a range of professional groups that focus on the key priorities of literacy, numeracy and improving teaching. However, the impact of these groups has not raised the quality of teaching sufficiently, particularly in the development of pupils' skills.

In light of the adequate standards, the school provides adequate value for money.

Commentary on performance data

At key stage 3, performance in the core subject indicator has improved in three of the last four years and been above the average for its family of schools. When compared with the relative performance levels of similar schools based on levels of entitlement to free school meals, performance has improved from the lower half in 2010 to the upper half in 2013. When compared with modelled expectations, performance is above expectations. English performance at level 5 and above has declined slightly in 2013 after a steady improvement in the previous three years, and it remains below the family average. Over the last four years, performance in English has improved, moving the school from the bottom quarter to the upper half of similar schools based on levels of entitlement to free school meals. Performance in English at level 6 and above has improved in three of the past four years. However, it has always been below the family average. After being in the bottom quarter of similar schools based on levels of entitlement to free school meals for 2010 and 2011, the school has moved into the upper half in 2013 for English performance at level 6 or above. Mathematics performance at level 5 and above has improved in the last three years but has generally been below the family average. It placed the school in the lower half of similar schools in 2011, but it is placed in the upper half in 2013. At level 6 or above, performance in mathematics has been flat in three of the last four years, and below the family average in the last two years. In 2013, it places the school in the lower half of similar schools in terms of levels of entitlement to free school meals, following its previous placing in the upper half. Performance in science at level 5 or above has improved in three of the last four years, although in 2013 it has declined and places the school in the bottom quarter of similar schools for free-school-meal benchmarks and below the family average. At level 6 and above, performance in science has fluctuated over the past four years, but has generally been in line with or above the family average. In terms of free-school-meal benchmarks, science performance at level 6 or above in 2013 places the school in the upper half of similar schools. Pupils' progress from the previous key stage is above expectations for many indicators, but below expectations for science.

Performance in the level 2 threshold including English and mathematics has improved sharply in 2013 and is now above the family average, placing the school in the top quarter of similar schools based on free-school-meal benchmarks. In 2013, performance is above modelled expectations from being well below expectations in the previous three years. Performance in the core subject indicator shows a similar pattern to that in the level 2 threshold including English and mathematics. The level 2 threshold performance has risen over the past four years, but, it has generally been below the family average over this period. In 2013, performance places the school in the lower half of similar schools based on free-school-meal benchmarks, where it was previously in the upper half in 2011 and 2012. Performance in the capped points score has remained steady over the past two years, but has been above the family average for the past four years. In 2013, performance in this indicator places the school in the lower half of similar schools. This performance is in line with modelled expectations. Performance in the level 1 threshold has been uneven but

has generally been above the family average over the past four years. In 2013, level 1 performance places the school in the lower half of similar schools based on

free-school-meal benchmarks. Performance in English has improved sharply in 2013 from a flat performance in the previous three years. It is now above both the family and Wales averages having been below both family and Wales averages for the previous three years. Compared with similar schools based on levels of entitlement to free school meals, in 2013 performance in English places the school in the top quarter where it has previously been in the bottom quarter or lower half for the last three years. Performance in mathematics shows a similar sharp improvement in 2013 from previously being below family and Wales averages in two of the past three years. For free-school-meal benchmarks, mathematics performance in 2013 places the school in the top quarter of similar schools where it has been in the bottom quarter in the previous three years. In 2013, pupils' progress from the previous key stages is much better expected for the level 2 threshold including English and mathematics, the core subject indicator and capped points score but is below expectations for the level 2 threshold and the level 1 threshold.

No pupil has left the school without a qualification in the past five years and many pupils continue in full-time education after 16. Very few pupils who left school at 16 are reported as being not in education, employment and training and this proportion is the same as the local authority average and smaller than the Wales average.

In the sixth form, performance in the level 3 threshold and average wider points score are above the family, local authority and national averages. Many pupils make better-than-expected progress and a minority make very good progress in over half of subjects. In 2013, 48% of A level grades were awarded at ‘A' or ‘A*'.

At key stage 3, in 2013, girls do better than boys in the core subject indicator and separate core subjects and the gap is larger than the family and Wales averages. At key stage 4, girls do better than boys and the gap is larger than the family and national averages for the most indicators. At A level, there is no difference between the performance of boys and girls for the level 3 threshold and both boys' and girls' performance is above that of girls and boys in other schools in the same family and the average for Wales as a whole.

In key stage 3, pupils entitled to free school meals generally perform worse than the family average. The gap between these pupils and pupils who are not entitled to free school meals is larger than the family average but smaller than Wales averages. At key stage 4, pupils entitled to free school meals perform worse than the family and Wales averages for the level 2 threshold including English and mathematics, the core subject indicator and the level 1 threshold. These pupils perform better than family and Wales averages for the level 2 threshold. The gap between the performance of pupils entitled to free school meals and those who are not is smaller than the family and national averages for all indicators. Pupils with special educational needs achieve as expected. In key stage 3 assessments, performance in oracy has improved in 2013 after a dip in 2011 and is above family averages. Reading performance has fluctuated over the last four years, and, in 2013, is below the family average. Writing performance has also been uneven over this period and, in 2013, is below the family average.

Stakeholder satisfaction report

Responses to learner questionnaires

Secondary Questionnaire (Overall)

denotes the benchmark - this is a total of all responses since September 2010.

		Number of responses Nifer o ymatebion	Strongly Agree Cytuno'n gryf	Agree Cytuno	Disagree Anghytuno	Strongly disagree Anghytuno'n gryf
		269		128	133	8	0
I feel safe in my school			48%	49%	3%	0%		Rwy'n teimlo'n ddiogel yn fy ysgol.
			43%	53%	4%	1%
		268		71	160	31	6
The school deals well with any bullying			26%	60%	12%	2%		Mae'r ysgol yn delio'n dda ag unrhyw fwlio.
			26%	58%	14%	3%
I have someone to		269		90	153	23	3		Mae gen i rywun i
talk to if I am worried				33%	57%	9%	1%		siarad ag ef/a hi os
			38%	53%	8%	1%		ydw i'n poeni.
The school teaches		266		47	139	69	11		Mae'r ysgol yn fy
me how to keep			18%	52%	26%	4%		nysgu i sut i aros yn
healthy									iach.
			23%	57%	18%	3%
There are plenty of		266		80	137	39	10		Mae digonedd o
opportunities at school for me to get			30%	52%	15%	4%		gyfleoedd yn yr ysgol i mi gael ymarfer corff
regular exercise				45%	45%	8%	1%		yn rheolaidd.
		267		86	168	12	1
I am doing well at school			32%	63%	4%	0%		Rwy'n gwneud yn dda yn yr ysgol.
			32%	62%	5%	1%
The teachers help me				85	155	25	2		Mae'r athrawon yn fy
to learn and make		267			helpu i ddysgu a
progress and they				32%	58%	9%	1%		gwneud cynnydd ac
help me when I have									maent yn fy helpu pan
problems				38%	55%	6%	1%		fydd gen i broblemau.
My homework helps		266		47	132	73	14		Mae fy ngwaith cartref
me to understand and improve my work			18%	50%	27%	5%		yn fy helpu i ddeall a gwella fy ngwaith yn yr
in school				20%	54%	21%	5%		ysgol.
I have enough books		265		101	136	25	3		Mae gen i ddigon o
and equipment, including computers,			38%	51%	9%	1%		lyfrau, offer a chyfrifiaduron i wneud
to do my work				45%	47%	7%	1%		fy ngwaith.
Pupils behave well		261		24	151	71	15		Mae disgyblion eraill yn ymddwyn yn dda ac
and I can get my				9%	58%	27%	6%		rwy'n gallu gwneud fy
work done
			10%	57%	27%	6%		ngwaith.

	Number of responses Nifer o ymatebion	Strongly Agree Cytuno'n gryf	Agree Cytuno	Disagree Anghytuno	Strongly disagree Anghytuno'n gryf
Staff treat all pupils		263		57	138	56	12		Mae staff yn trin pob
fairly and with respect				22%	52%	21%	5%		disgybl yn deg ac yn
			28%	51%	17%	4%		dangos parch atynt.
		265		39	125	89	12		Mae'r ysgol yn
The school listens to				gwrando ar ein barn ac
our views and makes				15%	47%	34%	5%		yn gwneud newidiadau rydym ni'n eu
changes we suggest				16%	54%	25%	5%
hawgrymu.
I am encouraged to		265		81	163	20	1		Rwy'n cael fy annog i
do things for myself and to take on			31%	62%	8%	0%		wneud pethau drosof fy hun a chymryd cyfrifoldeb.
responsibility				34%	60%	5%	1%
The school helps me		264		75	144	38	7		Mae'r ysgol yn helpu i
to be ready for my				mi fod yn barod ar
next school, college or to start my working				28%	55%	14%	3%		gyfer fy ysgol nesaf, y coleg neu i ddechrau fy
life				36%	54%	9%	1%		mywyd gwaith.
		263		87	153	20	3
The staff respect me and my background			33%	58%	8%	1%		Mae'r staff yn fy mharchu i a'm cefndir.
			37%	54%	7%	2%
The school helps me		264		90	152	19	3		Mae'r ysgol yn helpu i
to understand and respect people from			34%	58%	7%	1%		mi ddeall a pharchu pobl o gefndiroedd
other backgrounds				35%	56%	7%	1%		eraill.
Please answer this				21	61	16	4		Atebwch y cwestiwn
question if you are in		102							hwn os ydych ym
Year 10 or Year 11: I was given good			21%	60%	16%	4%		Mlwyddyn 10 neu Flwyddyn 11: Cefais
advice when									gyngor da wrth ddewis
choosing my courses									fy nghyrsiau yng
in key stage 4				28%	52%	15%	5%		nghyfnod allweddol 4.
Please answer this				19	49	23	2		Atebwch y cwestiwn
question if you are in the sixth form: I was given good advice when choosing my courses in the sixth		93		20%	53%	25%	2%		hwn os ydych chi yn y chweched dosbarth:
			27%	50%	16%	6%		Cefais gyngor da wrth ddewis fy nghyrsiau yn y chweched dosbarth.
form

Responses to parent questionnaires

denotes the benchmark - this is a total of all responses since September 2010.

		Number of responses Nifer o ymatebion		Strongly Agree Cytuno'n gryf	Agree Cytuno	Disagree Anghytuno	Strongly disagree Anghytuno'n gryf	Don't know Ddim yn gwybod
		117		62	51	3	0	1
Overall I am satisfied with the school.			53%	44%	3%	0%		Rwy'n fodlon a'r ysgol yn gyffredinol.
			43%	50%	4%	1%
		117		58	56	2	0	1
My child likes this school.			50%	48%	2%	0%		Mae fy mhlentyn yn hoffi'r ysgol hon.
				47%	48%	4%	1%
My child was helped to settle in well when he or		117		58 50%	58 50%	0 0%	1 1%	0		Cafodd fy mhlentyn gymorth i ymgartrefu'n dda pan ddechreuodd
she started at the school.
			49%	45%	3%	1%			yn yr ysgol.
My child is making good progress at school.		114		53 46%	53 46%	4 4%	0 0%	4		Mae fy mhlentyn yn gwneud cynnydd da yn
			44%	48%	4%	1%