Cardinal Newman Catholic School strives for excellence with every pupil
CARDINAL Newman Catholic School and Sixth Form Centre is a high performing school that accepts students, aged between 11 and 19, from RCT, Caerphilly, north Cardiff and the southern part of Merthyr Tydfil.
It is a traditional Catholic school where effort, manners and character matter. The school is named after Saint John Henry Newman.
The school places great emphasis on the development of the whole child. This development is firmly based on Gospel values, and the school says every child is valued as a unique individual, precious to God.
Applications are welcomed from families of all denominations, all faiths and those of no faith as long as they are supportive of the Gospel values. These values include love, forgiveness, reconciliation, honesty, generosity, equality and respect.
Mr O’Sullivan, the headteacher, describes the school as: “A Catholic school, rather than a school just for Catholics.
“We are a school that is secure and rooted in our Catholic faith, but outward looking and diverse. We want to serve the whole community”.
He believes the school can be summed up in its mission statement: “To provide a happy, secure, challenging and hope-filled Catholic environment based on Gospel values, in which the whole needs of the individual can be served as we strive for excellence in all aspects of the curriculum.”
The school says it has a wideranging curriculum that provides opportunities for every child to make the most of their God-given abilities. The curriculum is designed to ensure that every one of the children, whatever their strengths or weaknesses, feels cared for and challenged.
Mrs Medina, deputy headteacher in charge of curriculum, explained: “We aim to make learning and teaching as interesting as possible. Our pupils are given strategies to enable them to become more effective learners. We want our pupils to develop a love of learning and become lifelong learners. The range of extra-curricular opportunities in sport, drama and music, enables everyone to develop their interests and talents.”
The school has a track record of producing excellent academic results at KS3, KS4 and KS5 and regularly tops the GCSE results in the local authorities it serves.
Around 70% of the pupils return to the sixth form. In the last three years, students have successfully gained places at Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, Kings College, Imperial
College, Exeter, Cardiff, Swansea and Bath amongst many others.
Mrs Basini-Guy, head of sixth form, thinks it is equally important to place students on the right career path.
She said: “We know our students. If it is more appropriate for them to study a vocational subject or start an apprenticeship, we will get them on this path.”
Although proud of the results that the school achieves, Mr O’Sullivan believes that this is only part of the picture. He said: “We consider moral, spiritual and social development as important as academic performance. We look to develop the sporting, musical and artistic skills of our pupils. We aim for excellence for every individual. Much more than results, we pride ourselves on the individuals that we produce.”
Mrs Eaton, senior pastoral lead, ascribes this to having a balanced approach rooted in gospel values and high expectations: “We balance compassion with wanting excellence for all. We work with parents and students to overcome any difficulties that they face. We are a small school, but we know our students in a way that bigger schools won’t or can’t.”
The school is accepting applications for year seven for September 2021, until October 16, 2020. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 restrictions, the usual open evening has been postponed and visits are restricted.
All information is available on the website cardinalnewman.co.uk. The school is encouraging parents to examine the ‘transition’ area in particular and complete the online application when they are ready. The school would welcome parents contacting for additional information.