St David's College A GSG School

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All-through school (for example 3-18 years). - An all-through school covers junior and senior education. It may start at 3 or 4, or later, and continue through to 16 or 18. Some all-through schools set exams at 11 or 13 that pupils must pass to move on.

Sports

Unusual sports

Sailing

What The Good Schools Guide says

Headmaster

Since 2017, Andrew Russell BSc PGCE CCM (SPLD) MCCT, who joined the school in 1992. Originally from Scotland but, with a father in the RAF, moved about the UK, arriving in a school in Prestatyn aged 11 where he found himself ‘helping the little ones with maths’. After studying economics at Southampton University, embarked on accountancy training before escaping to the broader world of education. ‘It’s about being happy in your heart and not in your wallet,’ he said. Married to Kate, English and performing arts teacher, and from a dynasty of Davideans (her father was a housemaster); they are very much a double-act, embodying the family-feel boarding model.

We found the Russells round the inglenook of a wood-panelled study, replete with piano and oil paintings and a sweeping view of the grounds from the stone-mullion window. ‘Location is a big factor,’ he tells us when explaining the school’s USP, ‘Snowdonia is a massive playground’ – and although he professes to be only a ‘fairweather outdoor-edder’, he once ran cross-country for Wales. Now he uses 30+ years of experience at the school to manage a jaw-dropping range of academic, practical and sporting subjects. His own CV chronicles housemaster, safeguarding officer, deputy head as well as continuing to play Santa at the Christmas party for local children. ‘It’s a very full on term.’

As headmaster, he oversees mainstream teaching with additional support for the large proportion of students with specific learning needs, as well as keeping a partially open door for pupil and parent enquiries. Staff turnover is low, which reflects well on his management style. What he looks for in a teacher, he tells us, is, ‘Do they love their subject? Will they be able to set the topic alight in class and what else do they offer?’.

When asked about the latest difficulties with post-Covid stresses that have beset many schools, he says, ‘We didn’t have a huge problem…We were ready for it, but haven’t had to deal with it’. His genial manner belies a keen nose for the latest education initiatives and, according to Mrs Russell, ‘He is very engaging with the children’. No plans to move away, especially as his own brood attend the school, but expanding and updating the facilities is on the list, although not the size of the school. ‘Capacity is 300 – we’re comfortable at this size.’

If not a head, he muses, he would enjoy being a TV chef, and he dons the chef’s hat and holds preparation sessions for GCSE students round the kitchen table. Parents described him as ‘always very friendly’, ‘very helpful’ and ‘wonderful’.

Entrance

No entrance test, but a visit and interview with the head (can be virtual for internationals) and information from previous school reports. SENCo requests clinicians’ reports before asking children with learning needs to register. School is very good with unconfident new starters, say parents: ‘They met (my son) outside and talked to him…His confidence had taken such a bashing – school is something he had come to distrust,’ said one mum.

Exit

Majority leave for universities including University of Wales Trinity St David, Loughborough and Bristol. Product design and engineering are popular courses. Some pursue apprenticeships (has included tech and engineering companies) or a career in the forces. A parent remarked, ‘I know my child will walk out there equipped for work’.

Latest results

In 2023, 32 per cent 9-7 at GCSE; 30 per cent A*/A at A level (76 per cent A*-B). In 2019 (the last pre-pandemic results), 19 per cent 9-7 at GCSE; seven per cent A*/A at A level; 42 per cent distinctions for BTEC.

Teaching and learning

Small class sizes (average 12), specialist teachers and a syllabus guided by the national curriculum (including a raft of practical and art subjects), means the school offers a ‘bespoke’ learning experience. ‘He’s in a small class, who learn at his ability – instead of double maths lessons, it’s shorter, more frequent maths,’ said one mum.

Teachers at the younger end of the school plan topic-based lessons which cover core subjects, while playing to individual pupils’ strengths. We saw a group of year 6 children studying space and applying to NASA to learn letter-writing, with descriptions of their own characters and strengths. One girl presented her model rocket to the class, with aplomb. Spellings and extended pieces are handwritten but all children learn to use laptops as well. One parent told us she wept when she opened her son’s Christmas card with ‘total, utter relief that my son is going to write…and his handwriting was immaculate’.

After transitioning to the senior school, pupils get a firm grounding in maths, English, MFL and science, and are encouraged to have a go at a range of activities, including art, music and drama, outdoor education and engineering. ‘Today’s all about trying things,’ we heard one teacher say, while another described the range of practical subjects and sports as co-curricular not extra-curricular: ‘Instead of, say, teaching about glaciation, we go and see a valley.’ Parents can see the benefit: ‘A maths lesson outside and they’ll measure a tree – it puts it into the practical world.’ All learn Welsh to year 9 – ‘You start to catch on to it’, our English-speaking guide smiled.

Most children study eight or nine GCSEs or BTECs, from a huge range of options, while those with a learning need take fewer subjects to fit in individual maths and/or English sessions. Double or triple award science, with applied science, computer science or engineering GCSEs offered as an interesting alternative – and no gender biases either: ‘Girls quite like tinkering around with cars,’ we heard.

Sixth formers work towards three or four A levels or BTECs, and some complete an EPQ – again, with a wide range of subjects and small groups. ‘There are three in my psychology class,’ one girl told us, ‘It makes it feel like a one-to-one, it’s helpful to have a teacher go through stuff with you.’ All continue with outdoor education, sport and interesting practical courses like animal science (BTEC) which trains pupils to look after animals, build enclosures and study genetics. The course includes practical placements, such as with the Royal Welsh Kashmiri goats, which graze locally.

With four adults for every one pupil, there is a small army of teaching, support staff and grounds people to create the St David’s experience. All boarding staff are qualified teachers, all teaching staff are dyslexia trained and many are multi-talented, eg teaching with additional skills in water sports or volunteering as lifeboat crew. One told us, ‘This is not really a job, I love it here.’ In the Cadogan Centre, there are therapists (speech and language and OT), a counsellor and an educational psychologist who attends when needed. We heard that it was not uncommon for teaching staff to be dyslexic too. ‘I’m dyslexic and ADHD,’ said a PE coach, ‘and it hasn’t stopped me achieving.’

Learning support and SEN

The dyslexic-friendly Cadogan Centre is the crème de la crème of learning support and the reason many choose St David’s. A centre of excellence for specific learning difficulties (dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and speech and language needs, as well as co-occurring ADHD, some learning difficulties and some autism). One-to-one sessions are the norm, usually two a week but may be up to six, at extra cost. Staffed by over 20 specialist teachers, all with postgraduate degrees in teaching dyslexic learners, as well as on-site speech and language and OT, they are experienced in use of assistive technologies such as immersive readers, voice-to-text software and multi-sensory approaches. Parents provide the laptop and software, but teachers show how to use it.

Support extends to EHCPs, exam access arrangements and liaison with the forces children’s advisory service. Some arrive with diagnoses and paperwork, others take advantage of the school’s own assessment professionals. An experienced SENCo liaises with classroom teachers, PE and outdoor ed staff to follow through with targets and build self-esteem. ‘PE works with OT for dyspraxic pupils on balance and movement, looking at gross motor skills,’ we heard. The school’s commitment to supporting dyspraxic pupils earned them the ISI independent school of the year award. One pupil we met had timetabled support for core subjects, exam access arrangements and time off for windsurfing in the national squad. ‘He can happily go to activities knowing his learning is in hand,’ said Mrs Russell.

The arts and extracurricular

Music and performing arts are timetabled from junior to year 9, and can be chosen as a BTEC in year 11 or in the sixth form. In addition a production arts BTEC is available for behind-the-scenes enthusiasts or music techies, using the school’s recording studio. Over a third of the school take part in the spring term production at Llandudno Theatre (eg Matilda and Aladdin) and there’s an open-mic band night, which encourages anyone to stand up and sing, regardless of talent.

We saw a class quietly composing 2D drawings in one art studio, and computer aided design in another, graduating to 3D printing and full-scale modelling in the DT rooms. The workshops are ‘all very hands-on’, says school, with ambitious young inventors in green aprons using lathes, laser cutters and milling machines, under supervision of an ex-industrial designer. One girl was making a prototype collapsible bike helmet, after an insect-body design, and we heard another had walked off with the Welsh Innovator of the Year award. The school draws on a pool of successful alumni to advise on specific projects and has seen several students winning apprenticeships in industry, including the coveted Dyson engineering placement.

Beyond the curriculum, pupils not completely exhausted by the outdoor schedule can sign up for lunchtime or after-school clubs including dry-skiing, chess, cookery and garage club. There are choirs and bands, as well as individual instrument lessons, for anyone with a spare moment.

Residential trips start in the first term, and range from overnights on Anglesey to a week in the battlefields of Flanders. Pupils are involved in the organisation too. Older years experience dream-come-true experiences such as husky sledding or power-boat sailing.

Sport

This is Wales, so it is not surprising that over half the students play rugby, and some staff have been capped in the national team. In addition, the whole school runs cross-country ‘like mountain goats’ across the foothills of Snowdonia in all weathers. The school grounds offer the authentic, muddy experience of grass pitches for field sports (football, rugby, cricket), hard courts for basketball and tennis, and the sunken lawn in the front of the 17th century manor house is perfect for a couple of goalposts. One parent said that ‘it isn’t about if you are the best’, rather that they ‘encourage’ everyone. One dad said his competition-averse daughter is now ‘playing a match every week’.

Outdoor education, so often offered by schools as an occasional residential trip, is a daily adventure for St David’s. Thirteen outdoor ed instructors take groups rock-climbing, canoeing, gorge-walking, surfing or, on the January day we visited, sea-kayaking. ‘It’s a gorgeous day to be on the sea’, said the intrepid teacher, who had tutored the group on Neep tides and informed the coastguard. A shed bursting with equipment supplies everything from whistles to wet suits, and waterproofs to walking boots, giving pupils professional kit without extra financial burden for the parents. The benefit of the activities to self-esteem and resilience is immeasurable, say parents who describe it as ‘unbelievable’ and ‘absolutely brilliant’. Boarders and day pupils can opt for outdoor ed activities at weekends. There’s a BTEC sport and outdoor activities for sixth form, as well as DofE gold expeditions. The department makes full use of the location between the sea and the mountains with a fleet of minibuses, allowing day trips to destinations other schools cannot reach. On a more human scale, we were delighted to see a small boy studiously reading an OS map: ‘I know this from geography...’

Boarders

More than a third of the school take up the full boarding experience, with an activities programme on Saturday morning which many day pupils choose to join. Other boarding options are available for day pupils, such as staying regular or occasional nights. Boarding starts in year 5, when boarders are welcomed by a more experienced buddy into one of four houses (which span year groups). One house for girls, with plants, throws, cushions and impromptu access to the washing machine; three houses for boys (no cushions or extra washes desired). Single or double rooms for the older pupils and shared (threes or fours) for younger boys, all with a shared bathroom. Rooms comprise beds with own linen, cupboards, fridge and desks. Homework is half an hour each night in the common room before everyone eats together in the dining hall. Lots of sofas for chilling in front of the TV with mates, and most house parents have a dog or cat. ‘We’ve got great communication with the house parents with a WhatsApp group,’ said one parent, ‘It’s really instant’.

With international boarders and military families who may be posted abroad, the school takes a flexible approach to weekend visits and emphasises the family aspect. Staff wellbeing is also valued, with social events for families.

Ethos and heritage

Gloddeath Hall belonged to the Mostyn family, a 17th century Welsh baronetage, and their power and status is evident around the Grade I listed manor house in escutcheons, statues and gilded portraits, as well as a battery of cannon aimed towards Merseyside. The school took over the premises in 1965, making use of the 30 acre estate to nurture a community based on Christian values, where children of all talents and profiles are encouraged as individuals – or , as the head put it, ‘Mind, body and spirit are the basic tenets here… kids can be who they want to be’.

Our tour began with a view of the snow-capped Welsh mountains, from the hall’s battlements, overlooking the moat. The original house has spread into an estate of half-timbered gabled buildings for different departments: chaplaincy, humanities, boarding houses and classrooms, with dry stone walls and pathways between, giving the feel of a small country estate. The main building holds the reception, head’s office and a galleried old hall with painted ceiling, walk-in fireplace and candelabra – the type usually cordoned off in stately homes, but here used for lunchtime clubs and assemblies. Boys boarding houses are named after Welsh peaks (girls after Welsh heroines), and bedrooms spread over the upper floors. While descending the huge oaken staircase, we found a lively common room with TV, fish tank and children bouncing around on the sofas during break. Clanking and whirring resound from DT workshop and motor vehicle barn, while separate extensions and outbuildings for science, art and sixth form studies are clustered nearby.

The kitchen and dining room are a short walk from the main house. All staff and children eat together in a high-ceilinged hall, with twin murals of a monk and a sportsman. Food was toothsome: fish and chips, with mushy peas for Friday traditionalists, Welsh mountain cheeses, soup and seafood salad for others, followed by tiramisu. We heard that even fussy children are happy to eat here.

Pastoral care, inclusivity and discipline

The school’s values – mind , body and spirit – embrace mental health needs and there is a stout structure involving head of year, safeguarding and pastoral team to deal with any issues. ‘If you love the people around you, caring for them becomes second nature,’ the head said. Parents say their children never come home complaining of bullying – ‘He’s in the WhatsApp group and plays online, and (classmates) are always nice and polite,’ said one. The head’s verdict: ‘There’s always moments – children get it wrong as they grow older, but we experience very few issues.’ To combat cyber trolls, phones are taken from day pupils and given back at the end of the day. Boarders have phones, or alternative arrangements for different time zones, to contact parents. ‘I want children to connect with something bigger than themselves,’ says the head, ‘there’s a world out there that is bigger than their phones.’

Pupils and parents

We saw some pupils dressed in uniform (navy blazer with gold crest, blue shirt and tartan skirt or grey trousers; smart suits with a tie to designate house captain, prefect etc for sixth formers). However as many others were in oilskins, overalls or sportswear, depending on their lessons. Children were self-possessed, articulate and happy to expand on their time at the school: ‘I chose it because it’s really outdoorsy, it’s for more well-rounded people,’ said one. Pupils’ enthusiasm was infectious – despite the ice underfoot, we felt the excitement of the group wrapping up for a circular walk.

Day children are drawn from the local communities round Llandudno (some had relocated especially), with others travelling from Cheshire and the Welsh Marches or from Manchester, Liverpool and even London (three hours by train). A few internationals (from SE Asia, US, Europe) fly to Liverpool or Manchester airports.

PTA offers a second-hand swap shop and mingling events, eg the summer soiree and family picnic at speech day. Parents, some old Davideans themselves, attend face-to-face or virtual parent evenings and can contact the school by email or phone to talk to tutor, subject-specialists or boarding staff. One parent felt that communication could always be improved: ‘Because there are so many things going on, it’s easy to miss something.’ Another commented, ‘I think they could be more organised with their calendar activities, they don’t throw the dates out far enough in advance for boarding parents.’

Money matters

Fees include all activities, but learning support costs extra. Some bursaries, EHCPs, IDPs and forces family reductions.

The last word

A school that thinks outside the box and the classroom. Outdoor-
education and practical activities aplenty enhance the academic experience and build self-esteem, alongside careful learning support. ‘It was just like a breath of fresh air,’ said one parent. We were certainly blown away.

Special Education Needs

We take great pride in our whole school approach to dyslexia and related difficulties so all our classroom teachers receive extra training and qualifications beyond the usual BEd/PGCE. Indeed, we have over 50 years experience, and much of the research that has underpinned modern understanding of dyslexia was carried out at St David's, in collaboration with Bangor and Chester Universities. In addition, our team of 20 specialist staff provide one to one and small group support in the areas that might be holding a student back from doing their best. Our emphasis is on using multi-sensory teaching and communication strategies to help a pupil reach their full potential. We are a relatively small secondary school with equally small classes and the friendly relationship between staff and pupils is just one of the factors that leads to success. In fact, we think these aspects are really just the very best teaching practice and we have pupils every year who are aiming for 3 "A/A*" grades at A-level. Work in the classroom is supported by what we believe is the most extensive sporting, outdoor pursuits and extra-curricular programme in the UK (for instance there were 16 major expeditions last year alone). Fitness is important in its own right but it also aids concentration and team activities provide scope for learning important leadership and social skills. Having others depend on your skills and enthusiasms can be a real eye-opener to some, and our whole ethos is geared to raising your self-esteem... which is so important if your talents are to be uncovered and nurtured into full bloom.