Dinner Meeting at the Heronston Hotel

Heronsbridge School is a pioneer in special education, offering an engaging and relevent curriculum for pupils with additional learning needs.

Current Head Jeremy Evans was introduced and welcomed by Hopkin Joseph. Jeremy gave us a great insight into his career in teaching, starting at college in Caerleon before moving to Canada on a teaching placement. It was in Canada that Jeremy had his first experience of special educational needs.

Returning to Wales, Jeremy took up a position in Ystrad Mynach, followed by roles at schools in Cardiff and Penarth before joining Heronsbridge School as Deputy Head in 2011. Five years later Jeremy was promoted to Head, a role he has held to this date. In the 100 years of The School for the Blind and Heronsbridge, Jeremy is only the 6th person to have held the position of Head.

Originally opened as a blind school, in 1994 Heronsbridge became the school as we know it today, though with just 80 pupils at that time. Growth to 220 pupils by 2011 continued to today's 272 from across Bridgend County Borough. The school currently has 35 teachers and 170 non-teaching staff.

An October 2023 visit by HM Inspector of Schools was successful beyond the wildest dreams of the staff, with no improvement recommendations being made. Heronsbridge was the only special school in Wales to achieve this.

While a magnificent building, the current Heronsbridge School was never designed to provide the facilities needed for special needs pupils. Bridgend County Borough Council plans to build a new, state of the art, special needs school on Island Farm. Plans have recently been approved by the Welsh Government with a directive to "do the maximum".

Heronsbridge is a truly successful special needs school and this has been recognised by various awards, including being the highest performing school in the UK for Investing in People. Bridgend is indeed fortunate to have a school so focussed on meeting the special needs of its pupils.

Heronsbridge School has long standing relationships with the local community and with Rotary Bridgend. We hope to foster and grow this relationship in the future.

Following questions to Jeremy, William Williams made a vote of thanks for a truly interesting, informative and passionate talk.