Mission Statement
Our Mission is to be a Catholic School which promotes positive relationships founded on the Gospel values of respect, care, compassion and love. We firmly believe that each individual can discover, develop and achieve their full potential to take their place in our ever-changing world.
In order to do so we are:
- Committed to developing every learner’s relationship with God
- Committed to knowing every learner well
- Committed to continuous learning for all
- Committed to equity and excellence
- Committed to a whole school approach to Wellbeing
- Committed to a curriculum that enables all learners to be successful through knowledge, experience and skills
Our core purpose is “together in Christ, we make a difference”. This philosophy is at the heart of everything we aspire to do for each member of our community.
Partner Schools
The school has four designated Catholic primary schools but we also accept children from twenty other primary schools within the locality. The four designated partner schools are:
Our Sixth form college is St David’s Catholic College, Cardiff
History
St Illtyd’s can trace its origins back to two predecessor schools.
St Illtyd’s College was founded in 1923, when the De La Salle Brothers came to Cardiff to open a Roman Catholic school for boys. The school was opened as a grammar school on a site in Courtenay Road in the Splott area of the city. The buildings were extended in 1932 and the Preparatory department was moved to a new additional site on Richmond Road. The main school building was badly damaged by a bomb in 1941 during the Second World War. Severe overcrowding due to the damage sustained and growing pupil numbers led to the school moving to its current location on Newport Road in Rumney. A house was built at the rear of the school for the La Sallian Brothers to live in. When the Brothers left the school, this building became the Pastoral Resources Centre for the Archdiocese of Cardiff.
Heathfield House was a Roman Catholic grammar school for girls, founded by the Sisters of Providence of the Institute of Charity in 1867. It was initially called St Joseph’s Grammar School, though it moved to Heathfield House on Richmond Road in 1877 which led to the school changing its name. In the 1970s the school moved again, to a site on Ty Gwyn Road in Penylan.
The two schools were merged as part of the reorganisation of Catholic education in 1987. The school was renamed St Illtyd’s Catholic High School, and was now a co-educational school for pupils aged 11-16. Sixth form provision was transferred to the new St David’s Catholic College situated in the vacated Heathfield campus on Ty Gwyn Road.
The school was rebuilt on its existing site in 2002-3. The Assembly Hall, PE block and Sports Hall were refurbished at the same time, whist the other parts of the old buildings were demolished.
Whilst the school is no longer formally a De La Salle school, it still maintains links with bodies that are, such as St Cassian’s Retreat Centre. The five pointed star of the De La Salle Brothers is still contained within the school’s logo.
Facilities
St Illtyd’s has modern bright accommodation, which was completed and officially opened in 2003. However, we do not want to rest on our laurels so we regularly undertake maintenance and refurbishment projects to keep the buildings in a great condition and able to deliver a quality 21st Century education for all our students.
The school is fortunate to boast the following fantastic facilities:
- Television screens or interactive whiteboards in all classrooms and workshops
- 4 ICT Suites, all of which have the latest software for a Digital Curriculum
- Wireless network throughout the school
- 6 Science laboratories
- 4 Technology workshops for Textiles, Food, Graphics and Resistant Materials
- 2 Art & Design rooms, with a pottery kiln
- A gymnasium, with changing facilities that were refurbished in 2012
- A multi purpose Sports Hall, with its own changing facilities
- A suite of Music rooms which includes 2 classrooms, 3 practice rooms and a number of Apple Mac PCs
Hire of Facilities
St Illtyd’s Catholic High School aspires to be a truly community focused and extended school, allowing the community to utilise the facilities that the school has to offer.
The school is able to offer the following facilities for hire:
- Sports Hall
- Rugby & football pitches
- Gymnasium
- Assembly Hall
- Classrooms
Available to hire Monday – Friday 5pm to 9pm, Saturdays, or any day during a school holiday period.
Whether you are looking for a regular place to hold football training or fitness classes, to a large conference then the school may have the facilities you need. Please contact the School Business Manager on 029 2077 8174 or [email protected] for further information and to check availability.
Headteacher’s Welcome
Welcome to our website here at St Illtyd`s Catholic High School.
Our school has a rich history and an exciting future.
As you will see we have some great facilities. We also have a dedicated and hardworking staff whose aim is for every pupil in their care to grow and become all that they can be.
Our exam results are improving year on year and they are a reflection of the great pupils we have. The curriculum at St Illtyd`s is broad and balanced giving opportunities for all to be successful and prepared for the next stage of their lives. We also have a pastoral system of care and support which is second to none.
We are a Catholic school but all faiths and creeds are welcome at St Illtyds. We believe in the development of the whole child – academically, spiritually, morally and emotionally so that they can go onto be lifelong learners and contribute fully to the communities that they live in.
Whether you are a prospective parent, pupil or future employee I hope the virtual tour and this website gives a flavour of the school and an insight into the high standards, warmth and care that permeates within.
We look forward to meeting you.
D B Thomas
Home
WELCOME TO
St Illtyd’s
Catholic High School
Our school has a rich history and an exciting future.
As you will see we have some great facilities. We also have a dedicated and hardworking staff whose aim is for every pupil in their care to grow and become all that they can be (Read more)
WELCOME TO
St Illtyd’s
Catholic High School
Our school has a rich history and an exciting future.
As you will see we have some great facilities. We also have a dedicated and hardworking staff whose aim is for every pupil in their care to grow and become all that they can be (Read more)
STAY UP TO DATE
Latest News & Announcements
Chaplaincy
Our School Chaplain
The appointment of our school chaplain Victoria Wonnacott is an exciting opportunity to help our pupils and staff to develop their relationship with Christ and each other.
“My mission as School Chaplain is to enhance and develop the Catholic Life of St Illtyd’s, bridging the gap between our pupils/staff and the Church and to secure our positive presence within our communities. This can be achieved through close links with our feeder primary schools, parishes and the wider community the school serves.”
Our Chaplaincy
The appointment of our school chaplain Victoria Wonnacott is an exciting opportunity to help our pupils and staff to develop their relationship with Christ and each other. This term has been really busy with services in our new chapel, a focus on Ash Wednesday, charity donations for Ukraine and the further development of the Jesuit Pupil Profile.
Section 50 Inspection
Introduction
‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.’
Luke 10:27
When instructing an inspection, the Archbishop is ‘exercising his pastoral function as shepherd of his schools, helping them to live up to the mission of leading all people to love God with all their mind (religious education), with all their heart, soul and strength (collective worship) and love their neighbour as themselves (Catholic life and mission)’
(Handbook: Catholic Schools Inspectorate)
Purpose
The purpose of an inspection is to report to and advise the Archbishop on the quality of the
• Catholic life and mission of the school
• Religious Education
• Collective Worship
This also stands to inform parents, governors and the wider Catholic community.
Inspectors will:
• Observe RE lessons and acts of worship
• Talk to pupils and staff
• Look at exercise books and assessments
• Analyse data
• Seek the views of parents / carers
The inspection culminates in a written report which will be placed on the school and diocesan websites and will be sent to parents / carers.
If you have any questions / queries regarding a Section 50 inspection please contact Mr Moriarty (Deputy Headteacher) at the school.
SVP
Lenten Challenge
St Illtyd’s staff and pupils are taking on the challenge of walking 200km as a school during Lent to raise money for CAFOD. They will be covering the distance during PE Lessons as well as other activities during school time.
Please sponsor us by following the link to our school fundraising page. https://cafod.enthuse.com/pf/victoria-wonnacott
The Big Lent Walk
We are taking on the Big Lent Walk! 200km in 40 days throughout Lent. Staff and Pupils willl be working with the PE department for The Big Walk by tracking any walks/runs completed in PE lessons or ou
Year 7 Youth Action Group
January saw the launch of the Youth Action Group for year 7, we had an incredible turnout where 55 pupils showed up to the initial welcome meeting. The 55 students were broken down into 4 groups, each group assigning a President and Vice President. The Youth Action Group (YAG) focuses on 3 key elements; SEE, THINK and DO, turning their concern into action. The group will focus on our school community, the local community, global community and our primary schools. This coming term will see us focus on working with our primary schools in collective worship, workshops and charity work. They will be building up a relationship with the St Vincent De Paul Centre to encourage the already budding partnership the school has with them.
Year 10 Youth Action Group
Our current year 10 Youth Action Group has been incredibly busy since it formulated back in 2022. They have attended the SVP Community Engagement day where they met and collaborated with other Catholic High Schools in South Wales, it was at this event the group started to build a good relationship with the leaders of the SVP Centre in Ely Bridge. The group ran a successful Candy Cane fundraiser during Advent to raise funds for supplies for two charity workshops filling bags with essentials for the homeless and gift bags for the residents of Quarry Hall Care Home. They have collaborated a number of times with the SVP Centre who invited them to a Christmas Food Hamper workshop where they, along with volunteers from Holy Family Church, filled over 100 trays with food and handwritten Christmas cards for vulnerable families in Cardiff.
This term the year 10 group will be fundraising for the Turkey-Syria CAFOD Appeal by holding a Hunger Lunch in the school hall on 21st March.
St Illtyd’s Pupil Profile
St Illtyd’s has adopted the ‘Jesuit Pupil Profile.’ The Profile is a response to the question: ‘What kind of person would you really like to be?’ (Pope Benedict – St Mary’s University, Twickenham. 17th September 2010) The St Illtyd’s Pupil Profile offers a vision of what it is to be a good person and supports the moral and spiritual development of our pupils and staff.
Throughout the year pupils across the school are encouraged to compete in a virtue logo competition. The school virtues are explored as a form during their morning collective worship. Pupils are given the opportunity to design a logo based on what they have learnt and what it means to them. The winning designs become the official virtue logos of the school and will be displayed on the virtue corridor and across the school.
(Above) The Virtues of the term are displayed on every classroom smartboard, along with the liturgical season, monthly devotion and prayer.
(Below) The Virtue pairs are displayed on our corridors.
