Our Lady & St Michael's School, Monmouthshire

Our Lady & St Michael's 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 196 pupils in the 2025/26 school census.

15% of pupils are eligible for free school meals (three-year average).

Of its pupils, 8% have additional learning needs (21% in 2020/21); 20% are learning English as an additional language; and 33% are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Year groups range from 23 pupils (Reception) to 30 (Year 1).

Its delegated budget for 2026-27 works out at £5,332 per pupil, against £4,005 in 2021-22. It ended 2024-25 with a deficit of £54k.

Estyn's report on its July 2024 inspection summarises Our Lady & St Michael's School like this:

"Pupils at Our Lady and St Michael’s Roman Catholic Primary thoroughly enjoy coming to school. The ethos is calm, caring and highly inclusive and the pupils have a deep sense of belonging. ‘We live, we love, we learn, we grow in Jesus’ clearly reflects the aims of the school and underpins its values. Pupils and staff feel safe and appreciated in the happy and homely environment. Pupils’ attitudes to learning and their behaviour are exemplary. Nearly all engage immediately at the beginning of each lesson and show perseverance and resilience in what they achieve. They are considerate and show high levels of respect to their friends, staff and visitors."

"All pupils embrace the opportunities to be involved in aspects of school life and impact positively on issues that are important to them. Pupils’ oracy skills in English across the school are exceptional. Most pupils make strong progress in developing their reading and writing skills and become highly competent writers. Most pupils develop effective discrete maths skills and, overall, the older pupils’ digital skills are developing well. There is an enthusiasm across the school to learn Welsh and most pupils apply their skills confidently in their lessons. The school is developing a purposeful curriculum for its pupils. Staff provide them with interesting opportunities to build on their knowledge and to strengthen their understanding in a range of interesting lessons."

"However, the provision for younger pupils to develop their independent skills, in class and in the outdoor environment, is underdeveloped. The headteacher provides compassionate leadership that helps staff, pupils and their families to succeed. Governors show a good awareness of their roles and responsibilities and provide strong support for the school. The school has a wide range of processes to monitor the school’s provision and, overall, accurately identifies key areas for improvement. However, as a result of developing roles within the leadership structure, the pace of improvement in key areas is slow. The headteacher, with the support of staff and governors, promotes a robust culture of safeguarding. The links with parents and the local community are strong."

Estyn made 2 recommendations: (1) Embed leadership at all levels to address the school’s priorities for improvement successfully; (2) Provide opportunities for younger pupils to develop their independent skills in the classroom and outdoor area.

The nearest other state primary schools to Our Lady & St Michael's School are Cantref Primary (0.2 miles), Ysgol Gymraeg Y Fenni (0.8 miles), Llanfoist Fawr Primary School (1 mile) and Llantilio Pertholey C.V. Primary School (1.1 miles).

The nearest railway station is Abergavenny Rail Station (Main Entrance), about 0.8 miles away in a straight line.

9 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Penypound Church (after), 70 metres away.