Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen is a naturally bilingual community comprehensive school for pupils and students aged from 11-18 years. There are 360 pupils, including 50 students in the sixth form. The school is maintained by Gwynedd local authority. The school serves the small town of Bethesda, one of the main centres for the slate industry in Gwynedd, and the surrounding rural area. The majority of pupils come from an area that is economically or socially disadvantaged, and two of the most populous wards that serve the school are in the 40% of the most underprivileged wards in Wales. Seventeen point seven per cent (17.7%) of pupils are entitled to free school meals. This figure is close to the national percentage of 17.4%. Nearly all pupils belong to the white ethnic group. No pupils receive support to learn English as an additional language. The school admits pupils from the full ability range, including those who have been excluded from other schools. Five per cent of pupils have a statement of special educational needs. This is higher than the national percentage. In addition, 19% of pupils are on ‘school action’ and ‘school action plus’ measures, which is close to the national percentage. Eighty five per cent of pupils come from homes where Welsh is spoken by one or both parents and 15% from homes where English is the main language. All pupils follow Welsh as a first language. All subjects in key stage 3 are taught mainly through the medium of Welsh, and units of work are taught through the medium of English. The school operates a bilingual policy and both languages are used for teaching and learning across the curriculum. The headteacher was appointed in 2004. The individual school budget per pupil for Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen in 2012-2013 means that the budget is £5,180 per pupil. The maximum per pupil in secondary schools in Gwynedd is £5,185 and the minimum is £3,988. Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen is in second position of the 14 secondary schools in Gwynedd in terms of school budget per pupil.