Cardiff West Community High School is a

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

Ely, Cardiff Ely ( from ''tref'', town + , River Ely) is a district and community in Cardiff, Wales. It is to the north of Cowbridge Road West. Caerau defines the boundary to the south as does River Ely to the east and in part to the north. Roman era In R ...

, Wales, that teaches through the medium of English.

Construction

Cardiff West Community High School was built on the site of Glyn Derw High School. Although Glyn Derw had already been closed, a fire started by

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

destroyed much of the school, delaying construction. The new build cost £36,000,000, and the project was run by

Willmott Dixon Willmott Dixon is a British privately owned contracting, residential development and property support business. History The company was founded at Bassingbourn in Cambridgeshire by a bricklayer, John Willmott, in 1852. During the second half ...

. The final cost was an increase on the original government estimate of £28,000,000, and a construction company estimate of £30,000,000. It was built to supersede both Glyn Derw and Michaelston Community College by providing new buildings and a higher capacity of up to 1,200 Year 7–11 students, and 320 in the

sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

. The name of the new school was announced in a ceremony at Western Leisure Centre. 60 mosaics were installed in the corridors by local artist Paul Evans, adding to the modern feel of the school building. The new buildings were officially opened by

First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...

Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford (born 19 September 1954) is a Welsh politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance since September 2024, having previously held the position from 2016 to 2018. He previously served as First Minister of Wales and L ...

in July 2019.

Facilities

The school has a 3G artificial turf pitch, which is shared with the community.

History

Roman helmet A (; ) was a Ancient Rome, Roman soldier's metal helmet, most famously worn by the heavy infantry of the legionary, legions. Some gladiators, specifically ''murmillo'' (''myrmillo''), also wore bronze ''galeae'' with face masks and decorati ...

on the school badge reflects the Roman history of Ely. It is close to

Caerau Hillfort Caerau Hillfort () is a large triangular multivallate Iron Age hillfort, built on a previously occupied Neolithic site, occupying the western tip of an extensive ridge-top plateau in the western suburbs of Caerau and Ely, Cardiff, Wales. It ...

, and is also right next to the site of a

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house in the territory of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Nevertheless, the term "Roman villa" generally covers buildings with the common ...

. To help with the transition to a new school, students, particularly in Years 7 and 8, received significant support from other schools and colleges. Following an official inspection by

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

in November 2018, the school was rated ''adequate and in need of improvement across all areas''. This was an improvement over the predecessor schools, which had been rated ''unsatisfactory'' in 2016. The school serves socially deprived areas of Cardiff, with over 45% of the 613 pupils eligible for

free school meals A school meal (whether it is a breakfast, lunch, or evening meal) is a meal provided to students and sometimes teachers at a school, typically in the middle or beginning of the school day. Countries around the world offer various kinds of schoo ...

. Since students moved into the new buildings, academic standards have improved significantly.

References

External links

*2018 Esty
Inspection Report
{{authority control Secondary schools in Cardiff Educational institutions established in 2017 2017 establishments in Wales