Ferndale Community School
Catchment Area, Reviews and Key Information

Secondary
PUPILS
599
AGES
11 - 18
GENDER
Mixed
TYPE
Secondary (ages 11-16)
SCHOOL GUIDE RATING
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Can I Get My Child Into This School?

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This pupil heat map shows where pupils currently attending the school live.
The concentration of pupils shows likelihood of admission based on distance criteria

Source: All attending pupils Pupil Level Annual School Census

This School Guide heat map has been plotted using official pupil data taken from the Pupil Level Annual School Census collected by the Welsh Government. The data tells us where pupils lived at the time of the last Pupil Census.

Our heat maps use groups of postcodes, not individual postcodes, and have naturally soft edges. All pupils are included in the mapping (i.e. children with siblings already at the school, high priority pupils and selective and/or religious admissions) but we may have removed statistical ‘outliers’ with more remote postcodes that do not reflect majority admissions.

For some schools, the heat map may be a useful indicator of the catchment area but our heat maps are not the same as catchment area maps. Catchment area maps, published by the school or local authority, are based on geographical admissions criteria and show actual cut-off distances and pre-defined catchment areas for a single admission year.

This information is provided as a guide only. The areas from which pupils are admitted to a school can change from year to year to reflect the number of siblings and pupils admitted under high priority admissions criteria.

3 steps to help parents gather catchment information for a school:

  1. Look at our school catchment area guide for more information on heat maps. They give a useful indicator of the general areas that admit pupils to the school. This visualisation is based on all attending pupils present at the time of the annual School Census.
  2. Use the link to the Local Authority Contact (above) to find catchment area information based on a single admission year. This is very important if you are considering applying to a school.
  3. On each school page, use the link to visit the school website and find information on individual school admissions criteria. Geographical criteria are only applied after pupils have been admitted on higher priority criteria such as Looked After Children, SEN, siblings, etc.

How Does The School Perform?

Excellent
NATIONAL AVG. 2.18
Estyn grade
(01/10/2017)
Full Report - All Reports
368.0
GCSE average points
score (capped 9)
NATIONAL AVERAGE 358.1



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How School Guide Rates Secondary Schools

For secondary schools in Wales, schools are rated on key performance indicators for pupils up to the age of 16 (GCSE only) due to the fact the government did not publish A level data for the last academic year.
Ferndale
CF43 4AR
01443 755337

School Description

Ferndale Community School is a mixed English-medium 11-16 school maintained by Rhondda Cynon Taf local authority. There are currently 579 pupils on roll, which represents a decrease of nearly 100 pupils since the last inspection in November 2010. The school’s sixth form closed at the end of the 2016-2017 academic year. Most pupils come from the Rhondda Fach valley. Around 35% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is significantly higher than the national average of 17%. Over 60% 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. Only a very few pupils are fluent in Welsh. The school takes pupils from the full ability range. Around a third of pupils have a special educational need, which is higher than the national average of 21.5%. Just over 2% of pupils have a statement of special educational needs, slightly above the Welsh average of 2%. The school hosts a special needs unit which supports key stage 3 and key stage 4 pupils from across the local authority with complex needs. The school is currently a pioneer school and is working with Welsh Government and other schools to take forward developments relating to professional learning. The headteacher has been in post since February 2017. The senior leadership team consists of a deputy headteacher and two assistant headteachers. They are currently supported by a third assistant headteacher, acting in a temporary capacity to facilitate the school’s work as a pioneer school, and three temporary associate assistant headteachers. Further information is available from the Welsh Government My Local School website at the link below. http://mylocalschool.wales.gov.uk/Schools/SchoolSearch?lang=en 1 A report on Ferndale Community School October 2017 Summary At Ferndale Community School, strong leadership, effective teaching and a positive and caring ethos have combined successfully to secure consistently outstanding outcomes for pupils. All groups of pupils make very strong progress during their time at the school, including those pupils who enter the school with low levels of literacy and numeracy. At key stage 4, the school’s performance compares very well with that of similar schools. The school prepares pupils very well for life after Year 11. In addition to helping them to achieve valuable qualifications, the school contributes well to pupils’ personal and social development. This gives them a strong platform from which to move on to further education, training or employment. The school’s curriculum, in many aspects, meets the needs of pupils very well, and this has a positive impact on their enagagement in their learning and the standards that they achieve. Senior leaders and governors have a secure understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development, and have a strong track record of putting effective improvement strategies into place. Inspection area Judgement Standards Excellent Wellbeing and attitudes to learning Good Teaching and learning experiences Good Care, support and guidance Good Leadership and management Good 2 A report on Ferndale Community School October 2017 Recommendations R1 Ensure that self-evaluation arrangements across the school are consistently robust and rigorous R2 Ensure that all middle leaders are consistently effective in their role R3 Improve the consistency and effectiveness of cross-curricular provision to develop pupils’ literacy, numeracy,ICT and Welsh language skills What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection.

Ferndale Community School Parent Reviews



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