The Pontypridd High School
Catchment Area, Reviews and Key Information

Secondary
PUPILS
796
AGES
11 - 18
GENDER
Mixed
TYPE
Secondary (ages 11-19)
SCHOOL GUIDE RATING
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Can I Get My Child Into This School?

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This pupil heat map shows where pupils currently attending the school live.
The concentration of pupils shows likelihood of admission based on distance criteria

Source: All attending pupils Pupil Level Annual School Census

This School Guide heat map has been plotted using official pupil data taken from the Pupil Level Annual School Census collected by the Welsh Government. The data tells us where pupils lived at the time of the last Pupil Census.

Our heat maps use groups of postcodes, not individual postcodes, and have naturally soft edges. All pupils are included in the mapping (i.e. children with siblings already at the school, high priority pupils and selective and/or religious admissions) but we may have removed statistical ‘outliers’ with more remote postcodes that do not reflect majority admissions.

For some schools, the heat map may be a useful indicator of the catchment area but our heat maps are not the same as catchment area maps. Catchment area maps, published by the school or local authority, are based on geographical admissions criteria and show actual cut-off distances and pre-defined catchment areas for a single admission year.

This information is provided as a guide only. The areas from which pupils are admitted to a school can change from year to year to reflect the number of siblings and pupils admitted under high priority admissions criteria.

3 steps to help parents gather catchment information for a school:

  1. Look at our school catchment area guide for more information on heat maps. They give a useful indicator of the general areas that admit pupils to the school. This visualisation is based on all attending pupils present at the time of the annual School Census.
  2. Use the link to the Local Authority Contact (above) to find catchment area information based on a single admission year. This is very important if you are considering applying to a school.
  3. On each school page, use the link to visit the school website and find information on individual school admissions criteria. Geographical criteria are only applied after pupils have been admitted on higher priority criteria such as Looked After Children, SEN, siblings, etc.

How Does The School Perform?

Full Report
NATIONAL AVG. 2.18
Estyn Report
(01/10/2023)
Full Report - All Reports
379.2
GCSE average points
score (capped 9)
NATIONAL AVERAGE 358.1



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How School Guide Rates Secondary Schools

For secondary schools in Wales, schools are rated on key performance indicators for pupils up to the age of 16 (GCSE only) due to the fact the government did not publish A level data for the last academic year.
Albion Site
Cilfynydd
Pontypridd
CF37 4SF
01443 486133

School Description

Pontypridd High School is currently undergoing a period of significant change. The school will close at the end of the academic year 2023-2024 and will amalgamate with a local primary school to become Ysgol Bro Taf, a 3-16 school, from September 2024. The planned date for the transition to the new school was September 2022, but due to various factors beyond the school’s control this was delayed. This delay has posed considerable challenges to the school, particularly because leaders have been unable to appoint to permanent posts for three years. This situation is now coming to an end as the transition to the new school takes place. Leaders have navigated the challenges of recent years sensitively and sensibly, ensuring that the school continues to operate efficiently and succeeding in maintaining an ethos of positivity and optimism. The unwavering professionalism of staff at a time of change and uncertainty is striking and reflects their genuine commitment to the pupils and the local community. Leadership at all levels is a particular strength of the school. The school is a happy and positive community. Pupils feel valued and have many opportunities to influence the provision offered to them. Their involvement in the ‘Moondance’ project, which uses public health data related to the local community and enables them to influence positive change related to this, is a particularly notable example. Most pupils behave well, feel safe and feel that the school deals effectively with any rare incidents of bullying. However, a very few pupils do not behave well. Despite recent improvements in attendance rates, pupils’ attendance remains too low, especially that of pupils eligible for free school meals. Staff are deeply committed to supporting the well-being and educational attainment of the pupils. Positive working relationships between staff and pupils are a clear strength and there is an extensive range of provision to support pupils’ needs. There is a strong culture of care and safeguarding. The school has a local authority Learning Support Class (LSC) that provides education to pupils with social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties (SEBD). This provides a nurturing and caring environment that supports them well to integrate successfully into the wider school community. Many pupils engage readily in their learning and, in many lessons, they make sound progress. In these lessons, teachers plan helpful activities that support pupils’ learning well. In a few particularly effective lessons, teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve and plan skilfully to enable them to make strong progress. In a minority of lessons, however, teachers do not have sufficiently high expectations. These teachers do not provide an appropriate level of challenge in their lessons or enough helpful feedback to pupils. The school provides an appropriate curriculum at Key Sage 4 and is developing a broadly suitable provision for Curriculum for Wales. Pupils’ positive attitudes towards the Welsh language and the secure progress the majority make in their Welsh language skills is of particular note. However, in general, pupils are not making sufficient progress in developing their literacy, numeracy and digital skills due to a lack of opportunities. In particular, they do not have enough opportunities to develop their skills, especially their advanced skills, in authentic subject-specific contexts. 2 A report on Pontypridd High School October 2023 The school’s comprehensive self-evaluation systems and the integrated approach to school improvement means that leaders know the school’s strengths and areas for improvement well. Despite considerable strengths in leadership and largely due to circumstances beyond their control, leaders have been unable to have the necessary impact on important aspects of the school’s work such as attendance and behaviour, the provision for skills and the quality of teaching and assessment.

The Pontypridd High School Parent Reviews



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