St David's Catholic Sixth Form College () is a

sixth form college A sixth form college (pre-university college in Malaysia) is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 study typically for advanced post-school level qualifications such as GCE Advanced Level, A Levels, Business and Technology Edu ...

located in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Wales. It is the only

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

sixth form college in Wales. St. David's College is consistently rated good and excellent by

Estyn Estyn is the education and training inspectorate for Wales. Its name comes from the Welsh language verb meaning 'to reach (out), stretch or extend'. Its function is to provide an independent inspection and advice service on quality and stand ...

inspectors.

History

St. David's College opened in 1987 with an age range between 16 and 19 years. It occupies the building previously used by Heathfield High School, a defunct Roman Catholic

High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

. The majority of students live in Cardiff, although admissions priority is given to students from Roman Catholic secondary schools in the surrounding area. These schools include Corpus Christi High School, Mary Immaculate High School and

St Illtyd's Catholic High School St Illtyd's Catholic High School is a coeducational secondary school in Rumney, a district in the east side of the Welsh capital Cardiff. Its catchment area includes the eastern districts of Cardiff and is heavily oversubscribed. The school's na ...

. In 2019, controversy arose when

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council () is the governing body for Rhondda Cynon Taf, one of the principal areas of Wales. The council headquarters are at the Llys Cadwyn development in Pontypridd. History The council was established on 1 Ap ...

planned to close the sixth forms of

Pontypridd High School Pontypridd High School () (formerly known as Coedylan Comprehensive) is an English-medium comprehensive school in the village of Cilfynydd near Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Admissions It is for ages 11–18. It ...

Hawthorn High School Hawthorn High School () was an English-medium comprehensive school in the village of Hawthorn near Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It was featured in the CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadc ...

, and Cardinal Newman Roman Catholic School, Rhydyfelin, with a significant number of pupils potentially being diverted to St. David's College (particularly from Cardinal Newman). Outcries led to an appeal in the High Court, which ruled in favour of protecting places at the existing sixth forms.

Academics

Courses offered by St David's include

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

s, BTECs,

A level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

s and the

Welsh Baccalaureate The Welsh Baccalaureate (), or Welsh Bacc, is an educational qualification delivered in secondary schools and colleges across Wales. The Welsh Government says that it gives broader experiences than traditional learning programmes, developing t ...

. Nearly 30 different AS and

A Level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

courses are offered. In addition to the Level 2 and Level 3 courses offered, a Level 4 'Honours Programme' is available to students aspiring to go to universities such as

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Pastoral Support

The college has a dedicated chapel for prayer, reflection and mass. According to a 2019 survey, the largest religious group that students identified as was Catholic.

Notable alumni

Jessica Leigh Jones Jessica Leigh Jones (born 1994) is a Welsh engineer and astrophysicist from Cardiff. She is credited with becoming the first female to win the UK Young Engineer of the Year Award in 2012 for her work designing a portable uterine contraction m ...

(b. 1994) – engineer and astrophysicist *

Jeremiah Azu Jeremiah Azu (born 15 May 2001) is a Welsh sprinter. He is the 2025 European Indoor Champion and 2025 World Indoor Champion over 60 metres. In 2024, he became the first Welshman to run the 100 metres in under 10 seconds in wind-legal conditi ...

(b. 2001) – athlete

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Davids Catholic College Education in Cardiff Sixth form colleges in Wales Buildings and structures in Cardiff Educational institutions established in 1987 1987 establishments in Wales Catholic secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia