Whitchurch High School

Organisation and structure

The school is currently the largest in Wales (according to the school's last Estyn report) with 2400 pupils. In accordance with the three-tier system, it is divided between two sites, known as Upper and Lower. The Lower School site houses Years 7 to 9, with the Upper School providing facilities for years 10 and 11. The Upper School site also includes the Sixth Form Centre.

The school's Leadership Team is composed of the headteacher, two deputy headteachers and seven assistant headteachers. The current headteacher is Mr Huw Jones-Williams, who took over from Gareth Mathewson OBE in September 2008. He was Head of Fitzalan High School and a former Deputy Head at Whitchurch.

The school's uniform now consists of a yellow and grey blazer, with a blue tie for Lower School and a maroon tie for Upper School.

Funding

In 2015–16 the school budget per pupil was £4,411, amongst the lowest for secondary schools in Cardiff.

History

Whitchurch High School came into being in 1968, following the government circular of 1965, which replaced the existing tripartite system with comprehensive education. The new comprehensive school was created through a merger of the well established Whitchurch Grammar School, and Whitchurch County Secondary School, a secondary modern school; both were under the control of Glamorgan County Council until the beginning of 1967, when Whitchurch became amalgamated as a suburb of the City of Cardiff. The former, based on Penlline Road, became the Upper School site, and the latter, on Glan-y-Nant Terrace, the lower school. Like its predecessors, the school was co-educational and catered for a broad catchment area centred on the suburbs of Whitchurch, Rhiwbina and Tongwynlais in the northern part of Cardiff. The comprehensive school was initially run by Cardiff County Borough until the local government reform of 1974, which included Whitchurch in the new county of South Glamorgan. In 1996, the school reverted to Cardiff County Council, which became a unitary authority. As of September 2011, the school has been granted foundation status by the Welsh Assembly, following controversy over the local authority's proposals to reduce the school's intake.

The school's badge is a white church tower on a blue background with the surround 'Album Monasterium'. This is not the school's motto, but is rather the Latin translation of the school's name.

Curriculum

The school's Sixth Form school offers AS/A2 levels, a few stages of the Welsh Baccalaureate, and some vocational courses. Up until 2012, it was one of the only secondary instititutions in Wales to offer the International Baccalaureate.

Facilities

The school has a tradition in sport, music, drama and politics, with facilities such as:

Extracurricular activities

Whitchurch has a strong sports department and has produced many athletes who have represented Wales or Great Britain in recent years.

The school was named Sports State School of the Year by 7th Annual Aviva Daily Telegraph "School Sports Matters" National Awards in November 2011 in recognition of its sporting achievements.

The Japanese School in Wales (ウェールズ補習授業校 Wēruzu Hoshū Jugyō Kō), a weekend Japanese educational programme, is held at Whitchurch High School.

Notable former pupils of Whitchurch High School

Whitchurch Grammar School