Ysgol Gymraeg Y Fenni, Abergavenny

Ysgol Gymraeg Y Fenni 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 293 pupils in the 2025/26 school census.

10% of pupils are eligible for free school meals (three-year average).

Of its pupils, 5% have additional learning needs (13% in 2020/21); and 7% are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Year groups range from 25 pupils (Year 5) to 54 (Year 4).

Its delegated budget for 2026-27 works out at £5,181 per pupil, against £3,525 in 2021-22. It ended 2024-25 with a deficit of £286k.

Estyn's report on its September 2024 inspection summarises Ysgol Gymraeg Y Fenni like this:

"The school is a caring community where pupils are polite and behave well. Nearly all enjoy coming to school and attend regularly. The headteacher and deputy headteacher focus effectively on improving pupils’ progress, well-being and learning, in a Welsh environment. The school motto: ‘Learning as a family, growing as a community’, is alive in its day-to-day life and ensures that pupils are happy, learn, take care of each other and are proud to be Welsh speakers. They ensure that pupils’ well-b eing is sound, secure and that they are curious and confident learners who feel that they belong to the school’s familial community."

"The school has an interesting curriculum that supports pupils to be well-rounded learners who are well acquainted with their local area, Wales and the world. By following this curriculum, staff ensure that most pupils enjoy learning and make progress that is at least good in their various skills, including literacy, numeracy and digital learning. One of the school’s strengths is the way it encourages nearly all pupils, whatever their linguistic background, to speak Welsh confidently and with increasing accuracy. Most teachers have high expectations of pupils. However, they do not always provide enough opportunities for pupils to take responsibility for their own learning and to do things for themselves."

"The headteacher and governors have managed the school’s resources appropriately over a number of years. However, they are currently facing a situation of significant overspend. They have now begun to work with the local authority to address this. Leaders communicate regularly with parents but their communication methods are not always clear or consistent enough. As a result, not all parents have an appropriate understanding of what happens at the school from day to day."

Estyn made 3 recommendations: (1) Respond immediately to the school’s financial deficit; (2) Adapt teaching methods to improve pupils’ independent learning skills; (3) Ensure consistency in leaders’ communication methods with parents.

The nearest other state primary schools to Ysgol Gymraeg Y Fenni are Llantilio Pertholey C.V. Primary School (0.4 miles), Our Lady & St Michael's School (0.8 miles), Cantref Primary (0.9 miles) and Llanfoist Fawr Primary School (1.8 miles).

The nearest railway station is Abergavenny Rail Station (Main Entrance), about 1.2 miles away in a straight line.

18 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Llwyni Junior School (outside), 90 metres away.