Information for candidates
seeking appointment to the School
Background to Duffryn High School
These notes are intended to provide background information for potential applicants about the school
and the local area.
Duffryn High School opened in 1958 on a large greenfield site about three quarters of a mile from the
closest housing. Two further building phases brought the school to completion in 1967. The school was
originally planned for about 1500 students, though numbers have fluctuated between 800 and 1800!
The current Head Teacher is Mr Jonathan Wilson who took up post in January 2004.
Newport is a city of some 140,000 people sited at the lowest river crossing on the river Usk. Ethnic
minorities make up 4.8% of the total population, 54% of the ethnic population being of Indian,
Bangladeshi or Pakistani origin and 10% of black origin. Newport is a city of contrasts with affluent
communities and areas of deprivation and social need living side by side. Duffryn High School is an 1118 mixed comprehensive school situated on the south western side of Newport, serving a socially very
deprived area. There are currently 1241 students on roll.
The catchment area is effectively west of the river Usk and south of the M4. The school serves the
immediate housing estates of Duffryn and Maesglas, but pupils are bussed from Gaer, Pillgwenlly, Stow
Hill and a small minority from Allt-yr-Yn. This catchment area draws from a number of socially
disadvantaged areas within Newport. It covers the electoral divisions of Allt-yr-Yn, Gaer, Pillgwenlly,
Stow Hill and Tredegar Park. Table 1 shows some general indicators of social and economic conditions
within our catchment area, which contains two of Newport’s Communities First Areas. Pillgwenlly and
Tredegar Park are the most deprived wards in Newport (Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2000).
Pillgwenlly ranked 15th and Tredegar Park 23rd of the 865 wards in Wales.
Table 1
Social/Economic Indicators
Indicator
% unemployed
% lone parent with
dependant children
% dependant children
with no earners
% persons aged 1674 with no
qualifications
% children (0-15)
dependent on
workless benefits
% owner occupied
housing
% non white ethnic
groups
Allt-yr-Yn
Gaer
Pill
Stow Hill
Tredegar Park
Newport
6.1
6.6
16.0
8.5
11.7
7.0
6.6
10.0
12.7
7.5
21.5
9.2
4.7
7.8
13.5
5.8
20.7
7.4
21.6
38.4
48.8
27.7
46.0
33.6
14.6
32.3
47.8
22.3
48.2
27.4
76.3
64.3
44.2
57.0
31.8
70.5
5.0
2.0
24.0
9.0
3.0
4.8
More recent work has resulted in the publication of the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2005. The
basic geographical units are no longer the wards, but Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs), each
having about 1500 people. There are 1,896 LSOAs in Wales each with an index for overall deprivation.
Of the 94 LSOAs in Newport 9 were in the most deprived 10% of LSOAs in Wales and of these 4 were
within Duffryn’s catchment area. Indeed, Pillgwenlly 3, 1 and 4 were the most deprived in Newport, the
other being Tredegar Park 2.
Despite the high level of social need in the catchment area, not all is doom and gloom. The area has
been a hub of inward investment for the last twenty years. There are probably more advanced
technology and high quality service industry jobs within one mile than any school in Wales. Add to this
the smaller technology plants close by, the traditional city centre retail industry, the resurgent docks
activity and all the service and small industry attracted by big employers and you will get the picture of a
dynamic and thriving catchment area. We have established some good relations with our business and
industrial community and these are developing through some direct curriculum links.
The school’s aims are based on creating success, realising potential and generating lifelong learning.
We know our pupils can succeed by any standards and that good education can compensate for various
kinds of social deprivation. We are convinced that to succeed for the rest of their lives, our pupils need
skills that they are able to transfer as well as general academic qualifications.
The school is served by 7 primary schools, and we are working increasingly closely with them to create
an approach to education in the Duffryn Family of schools that looks at education 3-18 (and beyond) as
a single entity. Currently the proportion of pupils applying for free school meals is 34%, indicating that
there is still considerable social deprivation. There are 289 pupils on the SEN register of whom 44 have
statements to address their special educational needs. We have 150 pupils who are given additional
help by members of our English as an Additional Language (EAL) Team. The main languages spoken at
home are Bengali, Punjabi and Arabic, together with over 20 others. We are delighted with the richness
that all of these students and their families bring to the school.
We, as a large multi-racial school with a large number of students entitled to free school meals, are
proud to be part of the Newport LEA. Created as a unitary authority in April 1996 under Local
Government Re-organisation in Wales, the Authority has worked actively with its schools, through its
team of advisers, to create real success that has been recognised nationally.
The Governors of the school are very supportive. Full Governors’ meetings and working committees
usually have full attendance. There is a Governors’ Development Committee, consisting of the chairs of
the working committees and the Head Teacher and the Leadership Group, to look at longer term issues.
September 2010