Cwmbran High School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Cwmbran High School is an English-medium 11-18 school maintained by Torfaen local authority. The school opened in September 2015, following the closure of Fairwater High School and Llantarnam School. There are 1,236 pupils on roll including 286 in the sixth form.

In 2015, at Fairwater High School, performance in the level 2 threshold including English or Welsh and mathematics and in the level 2 threshold places the school in the upper 50% of similar schools based on eligibility for free school meals. Performance in English also places the school in the upper 50% of similar schools but performance in mathematics places the school in the bottom 25%. Performance in the level 1 threshold and in the capped points score places the school... in the lower 50% of similar schools.

At Llantarnam School, performance in the level 2 threshold including English or Welsh and mathematics, the level 1 threshold and English places the school in the bottom 25% of similar schools. Performance in the level 2 threshold, the core subject indicator and mathematics places the school in the lower 50% of similar schools. In the academic year 2014-2015, attendance at Fairwater High School was above modelled outcomes for the third time in the last four years and placed the school in the top 25% of similar schools.

At Llantarnam School, attendance was below modelled outcomes in each of the last four years. In addition, persistent absence had increased steadily and was much higher than the family and national averages. The school draws pupils and students from West and South Cwmbran, mainly Fairwater, Greenmeadow, Coed Eva, Thornhill and Llantarnam areas, although a few pupils do come from outside of catchment areas.

Just over 25% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is well above the national average of 17.4%. Around 35% of pupils live in the 20% most deprived areas in Wales.

Nearly all pupils speak English as their first language and come from a white, British background. The percentage of pupils with special educational needs is around 26%, which is close to the national average of 25.4%.

The percentage of pupils who have a statement of special educational needs is 3.8%, which is slightly above the national average of 2.5%.

The senior leadership team consists of the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, four assistant headteachers and a business manager. The individual school budget per pupil for Cwmbran High School in 2015-2016 means that the budget is £4,613 per pupil. The maximum per pupil in the secondary schools in Torfaen is £4,653 and the minimum is £3,847.

Cwmbran High School is second out of the six secondary schools in Torfaen in terms of its school budget per pupil