Ysgol Gynradd Hirael, Gwynedd

Ysgol Gynradd Hirael 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 171 pupils in the 2025/26 school census.

24% of pupils are eligible for free school meals (three-year average).

Of its pupils, 14% have additional learning needs (28% in 2020/21); 12% are learning English as an additional language; and 63% are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Year groups range from 14 pupils (Year 1) to 25 (Year 3).

Its delegated budget for 2026-27 works out at £5,607 per pupil, against £4,012 in 2021-22. It carried forward £134k of reserves at the end of 2024-25.

Estyn's report on its November 2023 inspection summarises Ysgol Gynradd Hirael like this:

"Ysgol Hirael is an inclusive and supportive community that promotes a caring ethos successfully. There are warm working relationships between pupils and staff, which fosters a caring environment and a firm sense of care and well-being among pupils. Pupils enjoy learning and are enthusiastic during lessons and tasks. They are keen to please staff and, as a result, succeed as confident learners. During their time at the school, many pupils develop purposeful social, listening, reading, numeracy and digital skills. Teachers plan the curriculum purposefully, which promotes beneficial learning opportunities for pupils. Pupils’ outcomes are good where planning, teaching and feedback on their work are challenging and consistent."

"However, teachers do not provide activities for pupils to develop their oral Welsh skills, or their extended writing skills in Welsh and English, regularly and effectively enough. Feedback to support pupils in the next steps of their learning is also inconsistent across the school. Staff support and care for pupils consistently and conscientiously. This contributes to pupils’ desire to learn and persevere with tasks. Staff encourage pupils successfully to take responsibility for their own well-being and behaviour and to embrace the valuable relationships that exist within the school. As a result, emotional well-being support for pupils and their ability to use this support is a strong feature of the school. Staff use the accommodation productively to meet pupils’ needs purposefully and, as a result, teachers plan activities to promote learning effectively."

"However, provision of outdoor learning experiences is not as effective, particularly for the youngest pupils. Leaders keep in close contact with the school’s wider community and build on the positive relationship with parents. The headteacher leads the school purposefully and ensures that the care and well-being of pupils are a priority. This is central to her vision. She works diligently with staff and governors to ensure that the school is an inclusive learning community that promotes positive opportunities for pupils. Leaders evaluate the school’s work effectively by using regular and rigorous self-evaluation processes. The school’s monitoring activities lead to relevant improvement plans and purposeful training opportunities for staff to develop their skills through agreed professional learning."

Estyn made 3 recommendations: (1) Improve the standard of pupils’ extended writing across the school; (2) Improve pupils’ Welsh language skills, particularly their oral skills; (3) Ensure that the quality of teachers’ feedback targets the next steps in pupils’ learning effectively.

The nearest other state primary schools to Ysgol Gynradd Hirael are Ysgol Glancegin (0.4 miles), Ysgol Y Garnedd (0.6 miles), Ysgol Ein Harglwyddes (0.9 miles) and Ysgol Gynradd Llandegfan (1.3 miles).

The nearest railway station is Bangor (Gwynedd) Rail Station, about 0.8 miles away in a straight line.

19 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Orme Road (o/s 36), 60 metres away.