Olchfa School
 | |
| Motto | Dysg Dawn Daioni |
|---|---|
| Type | Secondary School |
| Religion | Non-denominational |
| Headmaster | Hugh Davies |
| Location |
Gower Road Swansea City and County of Swansea SA2 7AB Wales  |
| Local authority | Swansea |
| Students | 1,913 - December 2008 |
| Ages | 11–19 |
| Colours | blue, red |
| Website | www.olchfa.org.uk |
Olchfa School is the largest comprehensive school in Swansea, South Wales, with approximately 2000 pupils. It provides secondary education for GCSE and tertiary education leading to A-Level qualifications. The school is situated in Sketty Park to the west of Sketty.
Academic performance
According to Estyn, the school has a current GCSE pass rate of 72% (based on 5 GCSEs, grades A*-C); placing it in joint 19th place in Wales, or in the top 10%. It is also the joint second best performing secondary school in Swansea, sharing its standing with Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr, behind Bishopston Comprehensive School.[citation needed]
Facilities
The school is made up of different sections:
Main Building: Teachings in the main building include English, Science, History, I.C.T., Geography, Religious Studies and Languages. The main building also has a D&T department, with the ground floor housing metal and wood workshops and computer graphics room, and the 1st floor housing texile and cookery rooms. The main building has two halls; the 'Main Hall' and the 'Drama Hall', both are used to function school assembles and catering school dinners at lunch time. It also contains the Sixth Form Block, a receational room for Sixth Form students to do to during free lessons and during their break and lunch breaks. Above the Sixth Form Block is the school's library, complete with study material as well as computers that pupils can use in their free time. The Sixth Formers have access to a computer area dedicated to their use only.
South Block: Teachings include Art & Design, Music and English. The South Block also contains the school's 'South Hall'; a hall containing theatre stage with lighting and space for chairs to be laid out, typically for stagings of school play and theatre productions.
Maths block: Teachings in this building include mainly of Mathematics but consist of some laboratories on the ground floor to accommodate science lessons, due to the schools demand for more science rooms when the building was built.
P.E. Department: Teachings consist of P.E. and Sport. It facilitates a 20m indoor swimming pool, 1 large asphalt sports room, 2 gym rooms and a fitness room, consisting of running machines, weight lifts, etc. P.E. lessons are also conducted outside on the school's field, which has an oval running track, 3 sets of tennis courts and playing fields, complete with football goals and rugby posts.
The school also consists of smaller demountables throughout the plot that teach a variety of subjects.
Extra curricular activities
At the end of the summer term the timetable is suspended for a few days for activities. Pupils have the opportunity to take part in activities, some in the United Kingdom, some in Europe and many based in school and the local area.
Olchfa participates in the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme.
Notable former pupils
- Daniel Alfei, Current Swansea City Football player.
- Simon Davey, former footballer and football manager
- Russell T Davies, television writer
- Andrew Dilnot, Warden of Nuffield College, Oxford
- Joe Dunthorne, poet and author[2]
- Stephen Harris, rock musician with stage name "Kid Chaos"
- David Hemp, cricketer
- Georgia Henshaw, actress
- Andrew Jones, screenwriter and director
- Heather Nicholson, animal rights activist
- Richie Rees, rugby player
- Eleanor Simmonds, Paralympian swimmer
External links
References
- ↑ https://swansea-edunet.gov.uk/en/schools/olchfa/Pages/Default.aspx
- ↑ "Shooting of movie adaptation surreal experience for writer", "This is South Wales", 20 November 2009, accessed 24 August 2011.