Ysgol Friars is a bi-lingual 11-18 mixed comprehensive school maintained by Gwynedd local authority. There are 1,234 pupils on roll compared with 1,328 pupils when the school was last inspected in September 2011. There are 211 pupils in the sixth form. The school serves the university city of Bangor and the surrounding area. Around 11% of pupils live in the 20% most deprived areas of Wales. Just over 12% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is lower than the Welsh average for secondary schools of 17%. Most pupils come from English-speaking homes. However, almost 70% of pupils can speak Welsh to some degreeand about 16% of pupils are fluent in Welsh. Fourteen per cent of pupils currently learn English as an additional language. The school’s intake represents the full range of ability. Twenty-one per cent of pupils have additional learning needs and two per cent of pupils have statements of special educational needs. Both these figures are close to the national averages. The headteacher took up his post in 1997. The senior leadership team comprises the headteacher, two deputy headteachers and three assistant headteachers. The school is currently a pioneer school and is working with the Welsh Government and other schools to take forward developments relating to the curriculum. 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 Ysgol Friars November 2017 Summary Ysgol Friars is a school that focuses closely on ensuring that all pupils achieve well and gain the qualifications and experiences that will enable them to progress further in life. It is particularly effective in setting high expectations for pupils’ behaviour, their attitutes to learning and the standard of their work. Most pupils behave very well and many are committed learners who make strong progress in their studies and display a clear sense of ambition. Over the past two years in particular, leaders have worked effectively to secure improved outcomes and provision for pupils. A notable feature is the consistently high quality of teaching across the school. Leaders at all levels understand the school’s strengths and weaknesses well and what needs to be done to ensure further improvement. Inspection area Judgement Standards Good Wellbeing and attitudes to learning Good Teaching and learning experiences Good Care, support and guidance Good Leadership and management Good 2 A report on Ysgol Friars November 2017 Recommendations R1 Improve the provision for pupils’ toilets and ensure that there is a sufficient number of toilets for the number of pupils R2 Ensure that the provision for Welsh matches all pupils’ abilities and previous academic experience of the language R3 Ensure that self-evaluation and improvement planning are consistently strong across the school, that activities focus appropriately on pupils’ skills and leaders take sufficient account of pupils’ views on a wide variety of issues What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection.