Ysgol Glan y Mor, Gwynedd

Ysgol Glan y Mor is a Welsh-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 451 pupils in the 2025/26 school census.

12% of pupils are eligible for free school meals (three-year average).

Of its pupils, 14% have additional learning needs (19% in 2020/21); 3% are learning English as an additional language; and 7% are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Year groups range from 82 pupils (Year 11) to 94 (Year 7).

Its delegated budget for 2026-27 works out at £7,279 per pupil, against £5,526 in 2021-22. It carried forward £346k of reserves at the end of 2024-25.

Estyn's report on its December 2024 inspection summarises Ysgol Glan y Mor like this:

"Ysgol Glan y Môr is a caring community that places an emphasis on fostering a sense of community and supporting the well-being of pupils and staff. In lessons, most teachers develop positive working relationships with pupils and there is a purposeful learning environment. As a result, during the week of the inspection, most pupils’ behaviour was good. A strong feature of the school’s work is the way in which it promotes pride in the Welsh language and culture. The Welsh department and Welshness committee organise a variety of rich experiences to deepen pupils’ understanding of their local area and encourage pride in the language. Many pupils also appreciate the opportunities provided to discuss contemporary topics and important issues through the personal and social education programme. They also value opportunities to take part in physical and cultural activities at events such as the Gŵyl Glan y Môr festival and various activities organised by the physical education department. Pupils are given beneficial opportunities to influence the school’s work through the school Senedd."

"The school has recently strengthened its procedures to improve pupils’ attendance. However, this has not had enough impact and, as a result, the attendance of pupils, including those who are eligible for free school meals, has not improved. During the inspection, the school’s attention was drawn to a safeguarding issue relating to lunchtime arrangements. A majority of pupils, including those with additional learning needs, make suitable progress in their lessons and over time. The school has clear and purposeful procedures for identifying and supporting these pupils. In the few lessons where teaching is at its best, pupils make strong progress. However, a minority of pupils make more limited progress. This is often as a result of shortcomings in teachers’ planning."

"The expectations of a minority of teachers of what pupils are able to achieve in individual lessons and over time are not high enough. Although there are valuable opportunities for pupils to use their skills in subjects across the curriculum, provision is not coherent enough so that pupils develop their skills progressively. The headteacher is supported purposefully by members of the senior leadership team. They work diligently to fulfil their duties, although some have too heavy a workload, which means that they are not always able to act strategically enough to drive improvements. The school has useful calendar of self-evaluation activities. However, leaders at all levels do not evaluate the effect of teaching and provision on pupils’ standards and progress adequately. This means that they do not identify the exact areas that are in need of improvement incisively enough and do not always hold those that they lead to account sufficiently for the quality of their work."

Estyn made 5 recommendations: (1) Address the safeguarding issue that was raised during the inspection; (2) Improve attendance; (3) Ensure that teachers always plan teaching, including provision for skills, to challenge pupils to the best of their ability; (4) Strengthen strategic leadership, including how responsibilities are distributed, to increase capacity in important areas for improvement and increase accountability; (5) Ensure that self-evaluation and planning for improvement processes focus on the effect of provision on pupils’ outcomes.

The nearest railway station is Pwllheli Rail Station, about 750 metres away (roughly a 9-minute walk).

3 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Ysgol Glan-y-mor (opposite), 70 metres away.