Senior School Good Schools Guide

Headmistress

Since 2016, Clare Sherwood MA (history, Cambridge), PGCE (Bristol). Previously deputy head academic at Blundell’s School and she has also been head of history and politics at Wycombe Abbey and history teacher and housemistress at Leighton Park, Reading, as well as a short stint in the state sector at Charters Comprehensive School, Berkshire. A classic case of the apple not falling far from the tree, her father was head of a cathedral school (Hereford), which she attended. ‘My three children joke, “Which one of us will it be?”’

Surely one of the sunniest heads we’ve met, her cracking laugh setting the tone at this jovial school. ‘That laugh is iconic!’ declared more than one pupil, who praise her ‘optimism’ and ‘excitability’ – ‘Literally, she’s always smiling.’ She is also described as ‘omnipresent – she’s just always around.’ ‘I teach far too much but I just can’t help myself!’ she admits (currently supervisor for EPQ, scholar programme and Oxbridge programme, as well as teacher of RS to year 8 and A level politics). Parents say: ‘I’ve never heard anyone say anything negative about her.’ ‘She has that perfect balance of approachable and empathetic, but also an air of authority.’ ‘Makes everyone she meets feel important.’

All agree it’s a kinder school than the one she joined – ‘It’s always had a strong academic reputation, but I believe children do best when they feel loved,’ she says. Touchy-feely vibes are only part of the picture, though – feeling valued, she insists, also depends on a firm safety net, so rules and regulations, and particularly consistency, have also had the Sherwood touch: ‘I’m tidy, I like order and systems - quite how I wound up in schools, I don’t know!’ She’s also strengthened the already solid sport and music (in particular, moving them away from being boy-centric, including equalising opportunities for boy and girl choristers) - ‘I was a county netballer and choral scholar, what can I say!’

Lives in Llandaff with her husband, also a teacher, and her three children – two at the school and one who has left for university. She is an honorary canon and member of the greater chapter at Llandaff Cathedral. Plays netball for the Rhiwbina Retros and sings in the school chamber choir.

Entrance

Around 60 applicants for the 28 year 7 places. These newbies – who come from 20+ local state primary schools – make up a third of the year group, with the rest coming up from the prep. Academically selective – all undergo a written English paper and CEM tests (maths, VR and NVR) plus interview either with two senior leaders or the head. After that, it’s a case of one out, one in, with waiting lists in all year groups (note that applicants are tested again if a place comes up for year 9 or 10). Around 10 join in sixth form, dependent on six 6s at GCSE (and 7s in the subjects to be studied), plus interview and reference.

Exit

Up to 20 per cent leave post-GCSEs, either because they don’t get the grades or they’re ready for a change - sometimes both. They go to local schools and colleges, notably St David’s Catholic Sixth Form College. A few to vocational courses. Between 90 and 95 per cent of sixth formers to university, 60 per cent to Russell Group. Bristol, Exeter, Cardiff, Reading, Nottingham and Birmingham all popular. Four to Oxbridge in 2022. STEM courses popular, including medicine (seven in 2022) and engineering, followed by economics and business, law, geography, history, foreign languages, English and music. Surprisingly, no careers office in the school, but sixth formers told us they get careers and uni application support, including from visiting speakers.

Latest results

In 2022, 67 per cent 9-7 at GCSE; 71 per cent A*/A (92 per cent A*-B) at A level. In 2019 (the last pre-pandemic results), 68 per cent 9-7 at GCSE; 43 per cent A*/A (71 per cent A*-B) at A level.

Teaching and learning

It’s cool to be clever here and there’s a buzz around learning, with consistently good results - the main reason parents choose the school. ‘I really prize hard work,’ states head. An unashamedly academic curriculum from the outset but taught creatively – in a year 7 English class, the teacher was handing out Sherlock Holmes themed images and magnifying glasses so students could look for the finer detail to inspire descriptive writing. ‘My child came from a system of rote learning – she found teaching here a joy,’ said a parent.

Parents say their children ‘love being stretched’ and are ‘hungry to learn’. One told us, ‘She loves all her subjects so much that she’s confused what to take for GCSEs.’ But while undoubtedly aspirational, parents here consider themselves ‘pretty relaxed’ and say they ‘trust the school’ – we certainly saw no signs of pressure and undue stress. Some wonder if it’s also ‘to do with the school being co-ed – boys, on the whole, don’t seem to get so anxious about exams, which I think helps keep things in perspective for everyone.’ Teaching staff excel when it comes to encouragement, we heard, although some told us feel more comfortable seeking support on a one-to-one basis than in a lesson – ‘You don’t want to look stupid.’

Snappy lessons of 45 minutes felt to keep learning punchy and on-point. Maximum class size is 24, but they usually dip to 20 or less at GCSE. At A level, max is 15, but most are much smaller – ‘One of my classes has just two students,’ said our sixth form guide. Setting in maths from year 7, and English and languages from year 9. At GCSE, students take 10 subjects including RS and at least one language – out of Spanish (taught from year 7), Latin (taught from year 8), German and French (students can swap Spanish for either or these two, or Latin, from year 9 – the latter gets good numbers, recently enough for two sets). Welsh also available as an extra from year 7. Homework is creative – ‘top notch assignments and never just a downloaded printout,’ said a parent. But, pointed out another, ‘There’s a lot of it and it can be an adjustment coming in from a state school at year 7.’

Small sixth form – head hopes for growth, with potential new sixth form centre on the high street (property already secured; change of use application awaiting approval). Students choose three (occasionally four) A levels (building up from AS) from a trad menu, though drama and business have been added. Maths most popular, followed by biology and chemistry – many want to be medics. Psychology, history and geography also get good numbers. ‘Geography is fantastic,’ we kept hearing. But no spikes on the results graph – all subjects do well. No BTECs – ‘not our market.’ Around 30 start the EPQ, with around half finishing it – again, stellar results. Students like the ‘school within a school’ feel of sixth form, and we noticed lovely relationships with the staff.

Learning support and SEN

Fifteen per cent of pupils are on the additional learning needs (ALN) register, as it is known in Wales, supported by one full-time ALNCo and a senior ALN teacher, plus visiting speech therapists as required. Deals with the usual gamut of ADHD, autism and dyslexia, though tends to be at the milder end. No EHCPs. Most support is classroom based or via amended timetable; no one-to-ones. ‘We did have to fight for the diagnosis, but once it was in place, the support was phenomenal,’ said a parent. ‘I couldn’t have asked for more and it’s one of the reasons he stayed for sixth form.’ Particular praise for the one-page profiles, which are written by the pupils giving information about themselves and the way they find it most helpful to learn; parents contribute to these too and they are updated by ALN department each year.

The arts and extracurricular

Music undoubtedly the strongest of the arts, with a whopping 85 per cent having private lessons for instruments or singing. We began our day watching the choristers (18 girls and 18 boys from across juniors and seniors) practising in Llandaff Cathedral – just the tonic after being stuck in gridlocked morning rush hour traffic on Western Avenue. The school is unique in Wales as the only Anglican choir school, and they sing in national services, including for the King in 2022, as well as for the BBC in Songs of Praise and Radio 3 Evensong. Back in the school itself (a stone’s throw away), the music department may not be the most flash, but it has some well-resourced spaces for lessons and practice, with all the gear you’d expect. Music is never far from ear shot, especially at lunchtimes, which is practice time for the 12 ensembles, including senior orchestra for the most able. On top of this, there are five – yes, five – percussion ensembles. Senior chamber choir is 80-strong, while Sinfonia is a 50-strong orchestra for years 7-9. House singing is a blast, we’re told, with house choirs of 40 pupils, and each house has at least one rock/pop band. Expect everything from Star Wars spin-offs to Mozart – ‘Access to classical music is important, but it’s also just about kids enjoying themselves.’

Don’t expect mammoth budgets on drama performances, and there’s only one or two staff in the department. Still, all agree it’s taught well and there’s big excitement about the two major school productions each year – usually one heavyweight such as Great Expectations, along with a foot-tapper such as Guys and Dolls, supported by student-led bands. Other calendar highlights include house plays and a specially commissioned short play on a Welsh theme.

Art takes place in charming premises on the high street. Lots of art competitions, with house fine art and house photography both popular. The school takes part in Llandaff Cathedral’s art festival, and there are good links with the art department at Cardiff Metropolitan University, as well as with PrintHaus, a community-based screen-printing workshop. Note no specific space for sixth form artists. DT taught by the chaplain down in the dungeons of the main school, where we saw year 7s excitedly making mini-mazes with the laser cutter.

Debating popular – and they regularly beat other schools in competitions. Amnesty International is going great guns in sixth form, and DofE gets good numbers for bronze, silver and gold. Most students we met belong to a club, and many suggest their own – year 7s recently wanted a newspaper club, for instance, and they’d just published their first edition when we visited. STEM club, like many, is student led. School is about to launch a harp society – simply because there’s a keen year 12 harpist. Lots of day trips, all included in fees, while those further afield include multisport tour to Belfast, art and Latin trip to Italy, geography trip to Iceland and sports tour to Malaysia.

Sport

The school’s reputation for sporting excellence is well deserved and for many parents, it’s a deciding factor. ‘They took my son’s rugby to the next level, with one-to-one support and feedback,’ was a typical comment. Football and rugby for the boys; hockey and netball for the girls; cricket for all. ‘Could be less gendered,’ felt a parent, and head concedes that, for instance, boys would like to play hockey – ‘but there just aren’t enough coaches.’ High levels of participation and achievement throughout – far more than you might expect for a small school. In years 7-9, everyone gets to represent the school, with nearly three-quarters doing so in years 10-11 and just over half of the sixth form. Recent successes include girls’ hockey national champions at U14, girls indoor cricket national finals at Lord’s and reaching the final of Cardiff Schools rugby competition for U12, U14 and U16. For those less keen on team sports (we met several), there’s everything from lifesaving to yoga to climbing, while the annual cross-country run is an important rite of passage every March.

School uses a combination of onsite and local facilities, also having easy access to Cardiff University’s facilities. A highlight is the beautiful Bishop’s Field for rugby, football and cricket – used by South Africa and Bangladesh as part of the warmups for the cricket world cup at Sophia Gardens. The new gym on the high street is a popular recent addition, its facilities endorsed by Cardiff Rugby and Cardiff Hockey for supporting their development pathway.

Ethos and heritage

Alas, the history books are incomplete but it’s clear that some sort of school has existed in Llandaff since the ninth century. It has had mixed fortunes through the ages, most recently the severe bombing of the cathedral in 1941 which led to the old school building being deemed unsuitable even when restoration work was completed in 1955. Two years later, the school, at that time consisting of 190 boys, became a member of the Woodard Corporation – a family of 40 independent and maintained schools focused on both a nurturing and Christian environment – and moved to its current more extensive site in 1958. Since then, it has expanded to several times its original size, and became co-ed in 1978. School House, built to mimic an 18th century naval ‘ship of the line’, and housing its delightful chapel, gives the students – along, of course, with the neighbouring cathedral – a sense of history and heritage. The rest of the teaching takes place in more modern additions or even on the high street (gym and art). Memorial hall shared with local community and drama hall shared with sixth form eating – ‘Every space has a dual purpose here,’ giggled our guides. Overall feel not dissimilar to a grammar school, which school is proud of.

Sixth form centre has modern, colourful spaces in which to hang out or work collaboratively, quietly or silently. There’s also a popular diner-style café but, as it’s not big enough for everyone, sixth-formers can also eat in the drama hall – same hot food options as downstairs in main refectory. Food portions could be bigger, we heard (not just from the sixth formers), but the food itself is excellent (particularly good salads). Sixth formers also love the coffee shops on the high street – ‘The Coffi Lab is the place to be when budgets allow,’ said our guides – ‘and some of us have friends at Howells, so we can meet them there too.’

Alumni include Louis Rees-Zammit (Welsh international rugby player selected for the British and Irish Lions in 2021), David Mahoney (conductor, creative director, producer and member of Only Men Aloud), Emma Leering (founder of United Ammayi which improves prospects of women in Malawi), Roald Dahl (children’s author), Sir Simon Hughes (former MP and deputy leader of the Lib Dems) and Krish Majumdar (EMMY-winning television producer/director and chair of BAFTA).

Pastoral care, inclusivity and discipline

‘Love thy neighbour’ is the mantra here – it is a Christian school, after all. Kindness is high on the head’s agenda, and there are clear systems in place for dealing with issues of unkindness. A termly wellbeing tracker allows the school to be proactive in spotting any mental health dips, although they are currently looking to move to a more professional platform ‘that doesn’t allow any hiding of feelings’. The house system comes in for praise – ‘The housemasters and mistresses know their students well and gives a boarding school feel.’ There’s a chaplain, who leads ‘emotional literacy support’, and a visiting counsellor but students told us they feel they could talk to most members of staff, especially the ‘much loved’ librarian.

There’s a restorative approach to most misdemeanours, although zero tolerance for the really serious stuff like drugs and alcohol – not that it’s an issue, we heard. No unnecessarily petty rules, say students (except perhaps ‘no shorts for boys and having to wear blazers in summer’), and on the whole, they feel listened to (eg girls now get to wear their hair down and can wear trousers). Some parents grumble about the head’s complete ban on mobile phones - ‘I don’t care!’ she told us, and students don’t seem bothered: ‘We actually talk to each other now!’

Several students, when asked the best thing about the school, said the inclusivity. DIRECT, the school’s anti-discrimination group, covers everything from LGBTQ+ to Black Lives Matter, and is very much on the students’ agenda.

Pupils and parents

Good ethnic diversity and while there’s no doubting the Christian ethos of the school (the
clue’s in the name), it means it when it says it welcomes all faiths and none: ‘I’m Muslim and fit in as well as anyone here,’ said one student. There’s a 60:40 boy:girl split – not bad considering Howell’s (girls only) is just round the corner. Relatively diverse socio- economically too, giving a grounded feel. Parents are mainly academics, medics and lawyers, with generous sprinkling of property developers and entrepreneurs. They come from all over south Wales, most within a 45-minute drive – as far west as Bridgend, east into Newport, north out to Caerphilly and south west to the Vale and Penarth. School buses run along all these routes, although many parents drive their children in on the way to work. Students are hardworking, curious and extremely enthusiastic.'

Money matters

Three foundation bursaries of 100 per cent per year, in addition to smaller bursaries. Academic, music and sports scholarships at years 7 and 12, offering up to 20 per cent fee remission.

The last word

A dynamically run school that parents pick for its solid academics and family feel. Music and sport are particularly impressive for a small school. The students work hard, make friends for life, and clearly adore the place.