St David's Catholic Sixth Form College ( cy, Coleg Chweched Dosbarth Catholig Dewi Sant) is a

sixth form college A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate Di ...

located in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. It is the only

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

sixth form college in Wales. St. David's College is consistently rated good and excellent by

Estyn Estyn is the education and training inspectorate for Wales. Its name comes from the Welsh language verb ''estyn'' meaning "to reach (out), stretch or extend". Its function is to provide an independent inspection and advice service on quality ...

inspectors.

History

St. David's College opened in 1987, with an age range between 16 and 19 years. It occupies the building previously used by Heathfield High School, a defunct Roman Catholic

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. The majority of students live in Cardiff, although admissions priority is given to students from Roman Catholic secondary schools in the surrounding area. These schools include Corpus Christi High School, Mary Immaculate High School and

St Illtyd's Catholic High School St Illtyd's Catholic High School is a coeducational secondary school in Rumney, a district in the east side of the Welsh capital Cardiff. Its catchment area includes the eastern districts of Cardiff and is heavily oversubscribed. The school's na ...

. In 2019, controversy arose when Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council planned to close the sixth forms of Pontypridd High School,

Hawthorn High School Hawthorn High School ( cy, Ysgol Uwchradd Y Hawthorn) is an English-medium comprehensive school in the village of Hawthorn near Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It was filmed by the CBBC CBBC (initialised as Chi ...

, and Cardinal Newman Roman Catholic School, Rhydyfelin, with a significant number of pupils potentially being diverted to St. David's College (particularly from Cardinal Newman). Outcries led to an appeal in the High Court, which ruled in favour of protecting places at the existing sixth forms.

Academics

Courses offered by St David's include GCSEs, BTECs,

A level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...

s and the

Welsh Baccalaureate The Welsh Baccalaureate ( cy, Bagloriaeth Cymru), or Welsh Bacc, is an educational qualification delivered in secondary schools and colleges across Wales. The Welsh Government says that it gives broader experiences than traditional learning pr ...

. Nearly 30 different AS and

A Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...

courses are offered. In addition to the Level 2 and Level 3 courses offered, a Level 4 'Honours Programme' is available to students aspiring to go to prestigious universities such as

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

Pastoral Support

The college has a dedicated chapel for prayer, reflection and mass. According to a 2019 survey, the largest religious group that students identified as was Catholic.

References

External links

*2010 Esty
Inspection Report
*2014 Esty
Annual Review of Performance
*2019 Esty
Inspection Report
Education in Cardiff Sixth form colleges in Wales Buildings and structures in Cardiff Educational institutions established in 1987 1987 establishments in Wales Catholic secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Cardiff {{Wales-school-stub