Hawarden Village Voluntary Aided C.I.W. Primary, Deeside

Hawarden Village Voluntary Aided C.I.W. Primary is an English-medium school in Wales. Welsh schools are inspected by Estyn rather than Ofsted, and its latest report is published on Estyn's website.

It had 373 pupils in the 2025/26 school census.

5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals (three-year average).

Of its pupils, 6% have additional learning needs (9% in 2020/21); 2% are learning English as an additional language; and 7% are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Year groups range from 35 pupils (Year 1) to 59 (Year 6).

Its delegated budget for 2026-27 works out at £4,602 per pupil, against £3,469 in 2021-22. It carried forward £158k of reserves at the end of 2024-25.

Estyn's report on its April 2024 inspection summarises Hawarden Village Voluntary Aided C.I.W. Primary like this:

"The school’s support for pupils’ well-being is a strength, and as a result all pupils feel safe and respected. Staff have strong positive relationships with pupils and provide effective support for them to build on their learning. The behaviour of all pupils is excellent and they attend school regularly. Leaders and staff have developed a strong culture of reading and provide structured support to develop pupils’ mathematical skills. As a result, most pupils, including those with additional learning needs, make strong progress in their mathematical and literacy skills."

"Provision to develop pupils’ digital skills and their numeracy skills across the curriculum is underdeveloped. The school’s curriculum takes account of the history of the local area and reflects the Curriculum for Wales successfully. Teachers plan a range of engaging learning experiences for pupils to develop their skills across the curriculum and they monitor their progress effectively. Younger pupils enjoy a broad range of activities, which help them develop their independent learning skills appropriately. However, older pupils do not have enough opportunities to lead their own learning."

"Most pupils take pride in their work and make worthwhile improvements following feedback from their peers and staff. The headteacher and senior leaders work purposefully with the governing body to secure improvements for the school. They have a good understanding of the quality of teaching and learning and plan strategic actions to bring about improvement. They work collaboratively with parents and range of external agencies to support pupils’ needs."

Estyn made 2 recommendations: (1) Develop older pupils as effective independent learners; (2) Develop pupils’ numeracy skills across the curriculum.

From the headteacher's welcome: "We are a large, welcoming school situated in the historic village of Hawarden, North Wales. Our Video Tour, filmed in October 2021, is a great starting point for new parents. It offers an overview of both our Foundation Learning and Junior departments - please scroll to the bottom of this page to view it."

The school runs after-school care.

The nearest other state primary schools to Hawarden Village Voluntary Aided C.I.W. Primary are Penarlag C.P. School (1 mile), Sandycroft C.P. School (1.1 miles), St Ethelwold's Primary School (1.4 miles) and Ewloe Green C.P. School (1.5 miles).

The nearest railway station is Hawarden Rail Station, about 570 metres away (roughly a 7-minute walk).

5 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Glynne Arms (outside), 120 metres away.