The Cathedral School is an independent day school for boys and girls from 3 to 18 years of age. The school is close to Llandaff Cathedral in the city of Cardiff. It was founded in 1880 and has been owned since 1957 by the Woodard Corporation, an educational charity. The school describes itself as an Anglican choir school. It has a close relationship with Llandaff Cathedral, and provides choristers (boys) and choral scholars (girls) to support the Cathedral’s choral tradition. There are currently 807 pupils on roll. These include 33 pupils in the nursery and 341 in the primary section of the school. In the secondary section, there are 466 pupils including 115 in the sixth form. Just over 60% of pupils in both sections of the school are boys. Most pupils live in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, but a few come from further afield, such as Llanelli, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly and Newport. About 16% of pupils come from minority ethnic groups. All pupils speak English fluently and very few pupils speak Welsh as their first language. There are a few pupils in the primary section who speak English as an additional language. The language of instruction at the school is English. Welsh is not a compulsory part of the school’s curriculum, but a few pupils study Welsh in key stage 4. The school offers additional learning support to about 9% of pupils, mainly to support their literacy development or general learning difficulties. Pupils join the nursery in the September following their third birthday and there is no testing to secure a place. From reception to Year 6, pupils join the school on the basis of an informal assessment as part of a trial day or part day. The school offers admission to the senior section for all Year 6 pupils currently at the school. New pupils who wish to join the school from Year 7 onwards undertake a formal assessment and the offer of a place is dependent on pupils’ attainment. Applicants for a place in the sixth form are required to meet basic minimum entry standards. The school describes its ethos and aims as ‘to give all young people every opportunity to flourish and to become world class learners, within a nurturing and supportive community’ and ‘to provide first-class education in an actively Christian environment’. The school has undergone significant developments since the last inspection. These include the opening of a sixth form in September 2013 as well as additions to the premises and accommodation for both the primary and secondary sections of the school. There have also been significant changes to the leadership team. The current head took up her post in September 2016. The restructured leadership team includes the bursar, two deputy heads and three assistant heads, as well as the head of the primary section and the head of sixth form.