Oldcastle Primary School, Bridgend

Oldcastle Primary School 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 418 pupils in the 2025/26 school census.

9% of pupils are eligible for free school meals (three-year average).

Of its pupils, 4% have additional learning needs; 10% are learning English as an additional language; and 18% are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Year groups range from 41 pupils (Reception) to 60 (Year 4).

Its delegated budget for 2026-27 works out at £4,323 per pupil, against £3,282 in 2021-22. It carried forward £145k of reserves at the end of 2024-25.

Estyn's report on its October 2024 inspection summarises Oldcastle Primary School like this:

"The headteacher at Oldcastle Primary School knows the school well and provides effective leadership. The dedicated staff support her ably, and together they work successfully as a team. The school is inclusive, welcoming, and a happy learning environment, with pupils’ well-being at its heart. Pupils enjoy attending school and are very proud to be part of its community. They feel safe at school and know whom to approach if they feel worried. The caring nature of the staff and the respect with which pupils treat each other, staff and visitors are strong features of the school . Most pupils behave well. They develop the confidence and skills to express themselves articulately and develop empathy and aspiration."

"Pupils develop positive attitudes to reading and a broad range reading of skills, which they use successfully to support their learning. They enjoy the many opportunities to develop physically, to be expressive and creative. Overall, pupils develop good mathematical skills and knowledge, and they write purposefully in different contexts. However, teachers do not provide enough opportunities for them to develop their writing skills independently. The school’s curriculum provides pupils with beneficial opportunities to learn about their community and diversity. For example, older pupils learn about the Windrush era and compose raps on the theme of eliminating discrimination. Most pupils engage positively with the purposeful range of learning experiences provided and make good progress in their learning. This includes pupils affected by socio- economic disadvantage and those with additional learning needs (ALN)."

"Teachers in the youngest classes plan effective use of the indoor and outdoor learning environment to enable pupils to investigate and practice their skills. However, in general, teachers across the school tend to over-direct pupils’ learning. The headteacher works diligently with staff and governors to plan school improvement. The school uses a range of appropriate monitoring and evaluation processes. However, improvement priorities do not always focus well enough on the most important areas of the school’s work, for example aspects of teaching. The school has established highly successful partnerships with parents through regular engagement activities, which supports the whole family."

Estyn made 2 recommendations: (1) Improve opportunities for pupils to develop independent learning skills and ensure that teaching consistently offers the right level of challenge; (2) Sharpen self-evaluation and improvement processes so that they impact more positively on the quality of teaching and learning.

From the headteacher's welcome: "We are here to ignite a lifelong love of learning. We do this to empower every child to become a curious, confident, and resilient citizens. Oldcastle Primary School aims to inspire, motivate and educate children from the age of 3 years to 11 years."

The nearest other state primary schools to Oldcastle Primary School are Penybont Primary School (0.5 miles), St Mary's Catholic Primary School (0.6 miles), Brackla Primary School (0.8 miles) and Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Ogwr (0.9 miles).

The nearest railway station is Bridgend Rail Station, about 590 metres away (roughly a 7-minute walk).

6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Ewenny Road (o/s 21), 140 metres away.