Freedom to Flourish

On Tuesday, 4^th December, Llandudno Rotary met at Cae Mor Hotel, Llandudno and 15 members heard a talk from Andrew Russell, Headmaster of St David’s College, Llandudno

This private College currently has 260 pupils, aged 9 to19, including 100 borders, and was founded in 1965. Most are fee-paying, however, a number of Local Authorities across the  UK see the College as a resource for educating pupils who have special educational needs and provide the funding.

Andrew has been with the school for exactly half of its life and was appointed as Head in 2017 after many years of service as a House Master and Deputy Headmaster. Nine of the 80 staff are products of the school, as are five of the 11 Governors – it is the college that grows its own human resources!

The tagline of the school’s website www.stdavidscollege.co.uk is “Freedom to flourish”, a strapline that captures the essence of this extraordinary school.

Although it punches well above its weight academically, as measured against all-Wales performance, the forte of the College is the ability to develop whatever talent the pupil has, rather than just mainly offering the more one-dimensional approach of a more results-orientated environment

Quite simply, St David's College has pioneered teaching that

-       enables pupils with additional learning needs to reach their academic potential

-       allows pupils with no specific learning needs to thrive and excel

-       develops every individual's character, enabling them to gain an extraordinary range of skills and discover true self-confidence