Porthcawl Comprehensive School is an English-medium 11 to 18 mixed comprehensive school located in the seaside town of Porthcawl. The school serves the community of Porthcawl and its surrounding villages. The number of pupils on roll is 1,221 which includes 229 in the sixth form. This is lower than at the time of the last inspection. The school is currently working with the Welsh Government and other schools to take forward developments relating to education reform in Wales. Around 8.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is lower than the national average of 16.4% for secondary schools in Wales. Around 9% of pupils are on the special educational needs register, of whom less than 1% have statements of special educational needs. Both these figures are much lower than the national averages of approximately 23% and 2% respectively. A very few pupils speak Welsh at home. Around 93% of pupils are from a White British ethnic background. Around 3% of learners speak English as an additional language. The headteacher has been in post since 2013. He is supported by two deputy headteachers, one assistant headteacher, a director of studies and a director of progress. 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 Porthcawl Comprehensive School February 2020 Summary Porthcawl Comprehensive School is a caring community that supports pupils successfully to become ethical and informed citizens. The senior leadership team provides strong strategic direction for the school. Overall, leaders know their school well and set ambitious aims for their pupils. Staff know their pupils very well and use this information effectively to provide timely support and guidance. In many cases, teachers plan appropriately and deliver engaging lessons. Strong support from staff has contributed well to positive outcomes for pupils at the end of key stage 4. Pupils are able to participate in an extensive range of extra-curricular activities. A wide range of pupil-led groups provides exceptional opportunities for pupils to develop their leadership skills. The school’s comprehensive provision for health, wellbeing, social and moral development is enhanced effectively by contributions from a wide range of partners. Pupils are also given valuable opportunities to shape the school’s curriculum and enrichment programme. Combined with the school’s provision for personal development, this work supports high levels of wellbeing. Inspection area Judgement Standards Good Wellbeing and attitudes to learning Good Teaching and learning experiences Good Care, support and guidance Excellent Leadership and management Good 2 A report on Porthcawl Comprehensive School February 2020 Recommendations R1 Reduce the variation in the quality of teaching and assessment, in particular with regards to the development of pupils’ literacy skills across the curriculum R2 Widen the opportunities for pupils to develop their Welsh language skills R3 Sharpen self-evaluation and improvement planning so that processes focus consistently on the impact of teaching on learning What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to show how it is going to address the recommendations. Estyn will invite the school to prepare a case study on its work for dissemination on Estyn’s website.