YSGOL Gymraeg Sant Baruc, in St Paul's Avenue, is a Victorian building dating from 1889.

It was originally part of High Street Primary school, but has been the location of Sant Baruc since 1974. It began as a junior school with the infant classes located in St Francis and Coed yr Odyn before becoming the primary school for 3 to 11-year-olds in 1996.

This is a Welsh medium school which takes pride in nurturing and developing bilingual pupils.

More than 95 per cent of pupils come from homes where English is the home language.

By co-operating with the home and trusting in each other it aims to ensure each pupil takes full advantage of their potential and become lifelong learners. It does so by offering equal opportunity, support and guidance to all.

Head teacher, Rhian Andrew said: “We are very fortunate that we have very supportive and committed parents at the school. Many parents give their time voluntarily to read with the pupils. We follow the Better Reading Partnership in Year 3 where every pupil has a reading partner during the year for a term. The parents and grandparents come on a weekly basis to read with individual pupils and encourage a love of books. As a result, the pupil’s reading age improves tremendously thanks to the support they receive.

“There is also a good collaboration between the Welsh primary schools of the Vale and its secondary school Ysgol Bro Morgannwg.

In November Years 5 and 6 go on an annual residential course with the respective years 5 and 6 of the other Welsh medium primaries. We have been attending Gwersyll Yr Urdd Llangrannog for many decades as a centre for promoting the Welsh language.”

Since the establishment of school improvement groups Sant Baruc has worked with schools from the regions of the Central South Consortium. Such work has enabled the school to work on Lego projects, and a wellbeing and numeracy project. These opportunities ensure staff have access to good professional development which impact the standards of the school

Mrs Andrew said: “I am very fortunate that I have such dedicated and committed staff who are willing to go the extra mile. There is a good selection of after school clubs offered throughout the year and staff give their time voluntarily to run these clubs. Our school building is quite limited in what we can offer but we try to think creatively how we can overcome these obstacles! We have cross country running club in Porthceri Park as we do not have much school grounds and we have used playing fields of neighbouring schools for rugby club in the past. A school parent governor helps us run a coding club and we have the Urdd come weekly to hold sports activities. Sewing, gardening, cookery, drama, choir and many different sports are offered to pupils at some point throughout the year.

We enjoy having parents or grandparents in school to speak with pupils about a specific theme or topic. Parents have been invited to come and talk and work with pupils on certain topics. We have parents who are authors and another who is a presenter who have come to school and inspired pupils in their work. We also enjoy having grandparents come and share their Diwali celebrations with us making sure that each member of our school community is valued.

“We put the wellbeing of our pupils at the heart of school life. We very much encourage children to look after one another and to get to know each other regardless of age or class. Our ‘Mets Gret’ (Great Mates) initiative has proven to be very successful in encouraging pupils to play and socialise with each other. Year 6 pupils take pride in being a Met Gret and take their role seriously.”

The school has made a substantial investment in ICT equipment over the last year and pupils have worked on a Lego project which raised awareness of STEM subjects. Pupils are very enthusiastic with the new technology available and the use of ICT is encouraged in all lessons. Online safety is encouraged and visits from community police school liaison officer assist in delivering this message.

Sporting activities showcase the talent in the school.

Mrs Andrew said: “We have had pupils who have gone forward and represented Wales in a wide range of sport including gymnastics, karate, cricket, cross country running. We currently have a pupil who plays for the Vale of Glamorgan rugby team and another who trains with the Wales Gymnastics squad.

“A highlight of our annual calendar is the school Eisteddfod. This is a wonderful opportunity for pupils to showcase their talents with their peers and teachers. Everyone comes together and the three houses Buddug, Glyndwr, and Llywelyn try their best to win the Eisteddfod trophy. The chairing of the bard and musician of the year are special ceremonies that are also celebrated. The Eisteddfod always ends with the house choir competition and preparations towards this competition is top secret between houses until the Eisteddfod day.”

The active PTA organises many events throughout the school year and has donated money towards the ICT equipment.

The school takes pride in its choir and its role in the community. They enjoy performing to wider audiences and try their best to accept any invitations. A highlight for the choir is singing in Orchard House home as they get to have a drink and biscuit for their efforts. Other venues have included Morrisons, All Saints Church RNLI service and High Street’s Christmas lights.

“We are very proud of the success we have received in the Welsh Book Quiz organised by the Welsh Book Council,” Mrs Andrews said. “We have reached the national finals many times and in 2016 we were crowned Welsh champions. Pupils are required to discuss a chosen Welsh novel and perform an extract from another Welsh novel. This is a very special achievement for us as we were competing against schools that were from a much more Welsh speaking community in other parts of Wales. This goes to show the standards of teaching and learning at Ysgol Sant Baruc are of the highest quality.

“Our pupils also have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument from Year 3 onwards. The guitar is a very popular instrument in Ysgol Sant Baruc and we have had much success thanks to their teacher Mr Chris Ackland from Cardiff and Vale Music Services. Our guitar ensemble group reached the national final in Pencoed Eisteddfod this year and Stefanie Maurer our Year 6 pupil has just won Vale Musician of the year this year with her guitar. This follows her second place achievement in the national Eisteddfod this year.”

Mrs Andrew added: “The school has a very special ethos which all visitors comment upon when they visit the school. We are a very close school community and try our best to make sure every member is valued and respected. Our school is a very happy and caring one and inclusive of every ability.

“We encourage everyone to take pride in themselves and give them opportunities in which they can grow as individuals and celebrate their talents.

The governors of the school were instrumental in getting a breakfast club for school. Ysgol Sant Baruc does not have their own catering facilities and therefore were unable to offer breakfast club to their pupils. The school does not have the capacity for catering facilities therefore pupils who have school dinners go to the ‘caffi’ in High Street Primary school daily. In September 2016 the Vale Council provided the school with facilities for a breakfast club for which parents are extremely grateful. On average 60 pupils use this facility daily.”

Fact file:

School motto: Credu Cyflawni Llwyddo/Believe Achieve Succeed

Chairman of governors: Mr Eric Thomas

Head teacher: Mrs Rhian Andrew

Number of pupils: 217 including nursery class

Age of pupils: 3 to 11

Last inspection: (year and rating) January 2011. Good