St David's Catholic College

For other uses, see St David's College (disambiguation).

St David's Catholic College

Coleg Catholig Dewi Sant
Type	Sixth form college
Established	1987
Religious affiliation	Roman Catholic
Chairman	Christian Mahoney
Principal	Geraint Williams
Academic staff	130 [1]
Students	1700 [1]
Location	Ty Gwyn Road, Penylan, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom, CF23 5QD
Campus	Urban
Language	English
Website	www.stdavidscollege.ac.uk

St David's Catholic Sixth Form College (Welsh : Coleg Chweched Dosbarth Catholig Dewi Sant) is a sixth form college located in Cardiff, Wales. It is the only Roman Catholic sixth form college in Wales. St. David's College is consistently rated good and excellent by Estyn inspectors. ^[1]

History

St. David's College opened in 1987 with an age range between 16 and 19 years. It occupies the building previously used by Heathfield High School, a defunct Roman Catholic High School. ^[2] The majority of students live in Cardiff, although admissions priority is given to students from Roman Catholic secondary schools in the surrounding area. These schools include Corpus Christi High School, Mary Immaculate High School and St Illtyd's Catholic High School.^{[ citation needed ]}

In 2019, controversy arose when Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council planned to close the sixth forms of Pontypridd High School, Hawthorn High School, and Cardinal Newman Roman Catholic School, Rhydyfelin, with a significant number of pupils potentially being diverted to St. David's College (particularly from Cardinal Newman). ^[3] Outcries led to an appeal in the High Court, which ruled in favour of protecting places at the existing sixth forms. ^[4]

Academics

Courses offered by St David's include GCSEs, BTECs, A levels and the Welsh Baccalaureate. Nearly 30 different AS and A Level courses are offered. ^[5] In addition to the Level 2 and Level 3 courses offered, a Level 4 'Honours Programme' is available to students aspiring to go to universities such as Oxford and Cambridge. ^[6]

Chapel

The college has a dedicated chapel for prayer, reflection and mass. ^{[7] [8]}

Notable alumni

• Jessica Leigh Jones (b. 1994) – engineer and astrophysicist ^[9]
• Jeremiah Azu (b. 2001) – athlete ^[9]

References

1. "A report on St David's Catholic College" (PDF). Estyn . March 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2020.^{[ dead link ]}
2. "Heathfield House Roman Catholic School; Kings Monkton School, Cardiff (415417)". Coflein. RCAHMW . Retrieved 29 September 2021.
3. Lewis, Anthony (25 June 2020). "Controversial plans for schools shake-up in Ponty go to a judicial review". WalesOnline. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
4. Wightwick, Abbie (30 July 2020). "Pontypridd schools given reprieve as High Court rules against closures". WalesOnline. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
5. "Level 3 Courses". stdavidscollege.ac.uk. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
6. "The Honours Programme". stdavidscollege.ac.uk. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
7. "Facilities". stdavidscollege.ac.uk. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
8. "Chaplaincy". St Davids College. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
9. "Alumni Hub". St Davids College. Retrieved 31 January 2024.

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