St. Michael’s School

St. Michael’s School was first established in 1923 and has been situated in Bryn since 1928. The school has a stable management history and its founders, the Rees brothers built its reputation of strong academic success. They retired and were replaced by former head boy, Mr Vaughan-Evans in 1962.

The school continued to grow and thrive under his leadership then Mr Daniel Sheehan took up the legacy in 1994-2012 and his emphasis remained on setting high standards.

The Headmaster, Benson Ferrari, continues to promote and develop the culture of academic excellence we have seen at the school’s core since its foundation more than 85 years ago.

St. Michael’s is a local school with a national reputation, consistently listed in the UK top 100 Independent Schools for A level results. We have regularly been placed first Co-Educational Independent School in Wales for GCSE results, at times achieving a remarkable 80% at grade A and A*. Almost all of our sixth form pupils go on to the universities of their choice and we have a long tradition of sending pupils to Oxford and Cambridge.

Our pupils shine academically and we are proud of the learning environment we foster. It is one where gifted and talented students can really be stretched, but also one which supports and encourages less able pupils and helps them flourish academically.

We provide a learning environment where pupils excel – small class sizes, flexibility, a strong culture of discipline and a positive work ethic.

Five key characteristics of our ethos:

• One – An established heritage of academic excellence: Our GCSE & A-Level results are consistently outstanding, placing us very high in the national rankings. We seek to bring out the potential of every learner, actively looking for personalised strategies to enable everyone to harness their individual talents. Whilst many high performing schools focus on making their statistics favourable first, ours are a natural result of genuine individual success, which is a product of excellent teaching and a motivational climate.
• Two – Small enough to care, but big enough to challenge and inspire: With several hundred pupils, there are a wide range of opportunities open to pupils, to forge valuable friendships which enable them to support one another and delight in learning. Everyone is focused on reaching their goals, resulting in a visible synergy in lessons and study periods. Staff know pupils well and are able to provide excellent pastoral care, leading to our learners developing resilience, confidence and strong self-esteem.
• Three – An international curriculum with a local emphasis: Our teaching staff plan and deliver a vibrant curriculum, selecting the best subject content and qualifications, combined with a rich variety of activities to develop pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural knowledge. We take full advantage of our beautiful coastal location and easy transport links to the rest of the UK, which affords us a broad choice of extra curricular options and trips, to take learning beyond the school environment.
• Four – A home from home: For those who board with us in one of our senior houses, students make St. Michael’s their home from home, studying effectively yet also enjoying our comfortable accommodation and leisure facilities. Our team of dedicated House Parents ensure that study time in the evenings is used wisely – it’s supervised, meaning that classroom learning during the school day is fully consolidated. Moreover, staff are on hand to support students’ wellbeing and welfare at all times.
• Five – A family school: Our community is centred on mutual respect for one another, which means standards of conduct and behaviour amongst our students are excellent. Family style values permeate every aspect of school life. It results in a happy and safe environment where everyone is able to focus on their learning, whilst also building the foundations for future success, resulting in a memorable education with a long lasting benefit.

Five overarching aims:

• One – We seek to enable all pupils to achieve their academic and personal potential, appropriate to their age, whilst safeguarding their wellbeing.
• Two – We seek to develop all pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural knowledge and understanding, whilst also developing their self-esteem and resilience.
• Three – We seek to provide a learning environment which actively encourages academic excellence, where pupils treat one another with courtesy and show an appreciation for the diversity that we benefit from.
• Four – We seek to communicate effectively with parents and guardians as well as providing helpful feedback, so that they may support our work, ensuring that home and school strive for a successful partnership.
• Five – We seek to offer a rich and varied curriculum delivered by caring and sympathetic staff, which not only develops pupils’ subject knowledge, but also prepares them appropriately to confidently face the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life.