The capital and largest city in Wales, Cardiff is also the eleventh-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 362,756. Cardiff is the main commercial centre of Wales and a popular tourist destination. Cardiff is ranked as 6th Alternative Tourist Destinations by the National Geographic.
Thousands of students come to Cardiff to study at a school, college or university. The best schools in Cardiff offer great learning opportunities for all ages. It is home to world-class education institutions and programs.
The best schools in Cardiff are divided into different types. There are historic grammar schools, free schools, private, and independent schools for boys and girls.
These schools offer a wide range of educational services. Highly-trained teachers are employed to support the students. Here are the different kinds of schools in Cardiff:
The education system in Wales is much like England, following the National Curriculum for maintained schools. However, this was changed since 2011-2012, when it was replaced with the Foundation Phase for all three to seven-year-olds.
This means the age of a child on 1 September determines when they need to start primary school. The Foundation phase encourages children to be creative and imaginative and learn by taking part in practical activities instead of working through exercises in textbooks.
Education system in Cardiff is compulsory from age 5-16. There are around 466,500 students attending state schools in Wales. Cardiff has Nursery, Primary, Middle, Secondary, Special and Welsh Language schools.
Schools have the option to teach lessons entirely or mostly in Welsh – this includes English-medium schools. ‘Welsh-medium’ schools are schools where children are taught in Welsh.
The main medium of instruction among schools in Cardiff are English, Welsh, bilingually or in a faith setting. Welsh is taught as a part of the curriculum in all schools up to the age of 16. Schools in Cardiff offer high-quality education and are mostly socially inclusive. Bilingualism is an important aspect in every aspect of school life in Cardiff.
Research shows that being bilingual has a lot of benefits for children, especially in the career path they choose to take. The ability to speak Welsh is an advantage and a requirement for most jobs in Wales. Through its Welsh-language strategy, Cardiff aims to develop a bilingual population by 2050, projecting a million speakers by 2050. The health, education, leisure, childcare, retail, and public services industry require mostly Welsh speakers.
The British Welsh-medium education helps enable children to become fully fluent in both English and Welsh. This type of education has become popular in Cardiff.
The curriculum in Cardiff puts emphasis on equipping young people for life. It focuses on helping children learn new skills and apply their subject knowledge more positively and creatively.
The aims of the curriculum is to help children become:
The curriculum focuses on ‘Areas of Learning and Experience (AoLE).
Literacy, numeracy and digital competence will also be given focus.
Edarabia showcases all private schools in Cardiff through which parents can filter by tuition fees, curriculum, rankings & ratings. There are many public, private and charter schools near you that cater to both expat and local students.
Depending on the level of education; kindergartens (pre-schools), primary, secondary and high schools will all have varying tuition fees. Most K-12 schools offer different curriculums and extra-curricular activities to support the intellectual and physical wellbeing of students. Admissions for the top international schools in Cardiff tend to have waiting lists so it is recommended that parents apply well in advance to secure a spot for their children. Additionally, each school has ratings based on parent reviews and are ranked below accordingly.
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