Glyn Derw High School is situated on the western edge of Cardiff, serving the large housing estate of Caerau and part of Ely. The number of pupils on roll has decreased by over 50% since the last inspection in November 2011. Presently, there are 207 pupils on roll between the ages of 11 and 16. At the time of the last inspection, the school was in the final stages of a federation process with Michaelston Community College. All pupils from both schools are currently taught together on the Michaelston Community College site. In total, approximately 830 pupils attend the federation, which includes 68 pupils in the sixth form. Glyn Derw High School serves a catchment area in which there are particularly high levels of social and economic disadvantage. Eighty-three point two per cent of pupils live in the 20% most deprived areas of Wales. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is 40.6%. This figure is considerably higher than the national average of 17.1%. Around 40% of pupils have special educational needs, which is higher than the national average of 25.1%. The proportion of pupils who have statements of special education needs is 2.5%, which is the same as the rate in Wales. The predominant language of the pupils is English and approximately 11% of the school’s pupils come from minority ethnic backgrounds. Around 8% of pupils receive support for English as an additional language. The school has been part of a federation with Michaelston Community College for five and a half years. Since then, there have been many changes to the composition of the leadership team. The schools currently share a governing body and an interim executive headteacher who took up post in September 2015. In addition, the senior leadership team includes three substantive assistant heads, two seconded assistant heads and a finance and business manager. The individual school budget per pupil for Glyn Derw High School in 2016-2017 is £6,028 per pupil. The maximum per pupil in the secondary schools in Cardiff is £6,861 and the minimum is £4,327. Glyn Derw High School is third out of the 19 secondary schools in Cardiff in terms of its school budget per pupil.