• Source: Olchfa School

Olchfa School (Welsh: Ysgol Gyfun yr Olchfa) is the largest secondary school in Swansea, South Wales, with approximately 1,700 pupils, including 357 in the Sixth Form. Situated in Sketty Park to the west of Sketty, it provides secondary education for GCSE and A-Level qualifications. Olchfa (part of the Sketty Swansea suburb) means 'washing place' in the English language.
Around 12% of pupils have a special educational need and 1.7% have a statement of special educational needs. Both of these figures are below the Welsh averages of 21.5% and 2% respectively. Nearly a quarter of pupils come from an ethnic minority background and just over 20% speak English as an additional language.
The school is currently under the leadership of Julian Kennedy, who became headmaster in 2023. The Welsh Government has selected the school as a Pioneer School to participate in the development of its curriculum.




Academic performance


In its most recent Estyn inspection in 2018, Olchfa School received the highest possible judgement, 'Excellent' in all five inspection areas. In the same year, the school reported a GCSE pass rate of 85% (based on 5 GCSEs, grades A*-C), placing it in the top five schools in Wales, top three in Wales for the percentage of A*-A grades and 74th in the UK taking A-levels (A*-B) and GCSE's (A*-C) into account. In 2023, Olchfa School was accoladed as the second-best secondary school in Wales by the Sunday Times Parent Power Guide, and in 2024.




Facilities


The school consists of different sections - the main building, a south block, P.E. department as well as a maths and science block. The school also consists of smaller demountable classrooms throughout the plot that teach a variety of subjects, an on-site swimming pool and numerous Tennis, Rugby, Football, Netball and Cricket pitches. A £1.6m investment is underway for a full-size, all-weather 3G pitch. There is also an on-site specialist facility supporting the needs of hearing impaired pupils.




Notable former pupils



Sports

Daniel Alfei, Welsh U21 International and former Swansea City footballer.
Simon Davey, former Swansea City footballer and football manager
Aaron Lewis, Welsh U21 International and Newport County footballer
Mark Harris, Welsh International and Cardiff City footballer
David Hemp, Bermudan International Cricketer
Charles Lowen, English International Cricketer
Richie Rees, Rugby Player
Ellie Simmonds OBE, Paralympian Gold Medalist Swimmer
Other

Richard Barrett, Composer
Russell T Davies, screenwriter and television producer
Sir Andrew Dilnot, Economist
Joe Dunthorne, poet and author
Liz Fuller, actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder
Stephen Harris, rock musician with stage name "Kid Chaos"
Georgia Henshaw, Actress
Nerys Jefford, High Court judge
Andrew Jones, Film producer
Heather Nicholson, animal rights activist




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Olchfa School
• Ellie Simmonds
• Russell T Davies
• Swansea
• Julian Kennedy (educator)
• Andrew Dilnot
• Georgia Henshaw
• Joe Dunthorne
• List of schools in Swansea
• Andrew Jones (filmmaker)